Live and Let Die
by 1stPrelude
Summary: After turning 13, Jack stopped visiting Jamie. But there was a reason. A fate that could destroy Jack, should it come to pass. But will he have to go through with it to save the last light from darkness? / fluff/ angst / comfort / yaoi / BenneFrost / JackxJamie / Rated M for eventual / sexual language / cursing / and violence [appropriate warnings given at beginning of chapters]
1. Prologue

**This story is Bennefrost and is rated M for later chapters. Appropriate warnings will be underlined at the start of each chapter. So don't let the M-rating keep you from reading. :)**

**It will also be the second story I have written. I'm actually super surprised how little BenneFrost there is out there. (Only 14, wut?!) So I plan on a good ol' hurt/comfort/angst/romance with eventual smut that also brings up some important questions about life and such. **

**(Everyone will be of consenting age. AKA no statutory rape. No thanks.)**

**So please enjoy, and feedback is always appreciated.**

**I do not own most of the characters in the story. All rights go to ****DreamWorks II Holding Co., LLC.******

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><p><span>Prologue<span>

_"_Jack!" I called as I burst out of my house only to see the world blanketed in a protective layer of snow. It was my birthday and school was cancelled…There was no way that this was a coincidence.

"Jamie!" I heard Pippa yell from across the street. As quickly as she could, she trudged through the dense sea of snow to make her way over to me.

I quickly zipped up my coat and jumped off my porch to meet Pippa. Looking around, I waved as I saw Monty, Claude, Caleb, and Cupcake coming out of their houses down the street as well.

"Have you seen him?!" I asked excitedly as I stumbled a little and grabbed Pippa's arms to hold myself steady.

She laughed as I tripped and replied, "No. But he's gotta be around here somewhere…" She turned her head as she saw the twins and Monty approach. "We'll just have to make him come out…" she said mischievously.

I smiled knowing what she meant and then quickly bent down to pack a snowball, Pippa following my lead.

"Snowdayyy!" Claude and Caleb shouted as they broke into a run and charged towards Pippa and me.

Pippa and I both pitched our snowballs as hard as we could at the approaching boys, who both leaped off to either side of the sidewalk, leaving Monty wide-open.

Our snowballs collided into his head and chest, making Monty trip and fall face-first into the snow. But I knew he was ok. Monty was clumsy, but he was still tough.

Monty proved me right as he stood up laughing and rummaging around in the snow to collect a mass of weaponry for himself. The rest of us followed suit and fumbled to quickly gather ourselves a group of projectiles.

I saw Monty raise his arm with Claude and Caleb right behind him. Pippa and I assumed the position as well and we all froze, glaring at one another. I could almost hear the Old Wild West theme song whistle in the background. The tension was thicker than frozen custard…

Claude let out a shriek as an unusually large snowball struck him in the back of the head, scaring him into dropping his own snowball.

"GO!" Cupcake yelled as she leaped out from behind a tree.

The battle was on.

We ran and ducked and threw as fast as we could. I was hit so many times that I lost count and I threw so many snowballs, I don't even know if they hit. All that mattered was we were free.

Our snowball war had forced us to move to the nearby park as we tried to escape one another. Pippa was on my team while Claude, Caleb and Monty were against us. Cupcake was the wild card, throwing snow at anyone that came within her target zone.

After a while, we all fell panting and gasping into the white blanket. Cupcake started to absentmindedly make a snow angel next to me, while I just stared up into the grey, winter sky watching my hot breath freeze into small clouds each time I exhaled.

"Miss me?" a familiar voice said from behind my head.

"Jack!" I jumped in surprise and scrambled to stand up to greet the Guardian behind me. He stood there, looking like always in his blue, frosted hoodie, brown pants, and holding his hooked staff. I threw myself into him, wrapping my arms around his middle, and hugging him tightly.

"_Urmph. _Wow, Jamie, you've definitely grown since last year," he chuckled while reaching an arm around my shoulders to hug me back.

I pulled back from him and looked proudly up into his face, which was much closer than before. My head came up to his shoulders now.

"Yeah, well, I'm twelve now. My doctor says I'm about to go through a growth spurt soon!" I said as my friends gathered around us as well.

His lips pulled back into a one-sided smile as he looked down at me again. "Well, happy birthday, Jamie," he said a softer tone.

"Hey! How come you never give **us** a snow day on our birthday?" Claude protested.

"Because our birthday is in June, dum dum," Caleb answered for him shoving his brother a little.

Jack let out a hearty laugh and exclaimed excitedly, "Well, the day's not over yet! Let's have some fun!"

The snow spirit aimed his staff at the ground and let out a wave of magic. Very quickly several ice sleds were fashioned out of the glistening snow.

All of us cheered and rushed forward to grab one of the sparkling treasures before charging up the hill. Claude and Caleb dived onto the ice sleds and rocketed down the hill first.

They were so fast! I couldn't believe it and I couldn't wait to try them out myself. When it was my turn, I leaped onto my sled and slid over the lip of the hill.

Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. I squinted as the cold air whipped past my face. It was like I was flying! I slid down the hill faster than I'd ever gone, before I collided into the large mound of soft, powdery snow that Jack had conjured at the bottom.

I poofed out of the pile, hooting and hollering, before grabbing my sled and running back up the hill. Jack skated around us, taking in all the joy and fun he was helping us have.

After I reached the top of the hill for the third time, I figured I should try something different. Since Jack was skating around on his ice and snow, maybe I should try the same…

I positioned my sled with my arms before pushing it over the edge and hopping into a crouched position while gripping the sides with my hands. As I neared the bottom, I stood up.

"Jamie, wait!" I heard Jack shout as my change in balance caused my sled to slide off-course.

I missed Jack's protective snow pile and instead skirted by it at top speed before flying off my sled. Thankfully, a tree stopped my trajectory.

I lay in the snow underneath the massive pine tree dazed and confused. I could hear my ears ringing and the faint echoes of my friends' voices as they made their way over to me.

Jack was in front of me in a second, crouched on the ground while holding his staff in one hand. "Jamie! Are you ok?" he asked with a worried expression on his face.

"Yeah…I'm ok," I said as I sat up and concentrated on making the world stop spinning.

"No, you're bleeding!" Jack said pointing above my eyes.

I reached up and gently wiped my fingers across my forehead before bringing them down to see that they were smudged with blood.

"It's ok, I'll fix it," Jack assured me.

But I didn't want to seem like a baby just for having a small cut... "No, Jack! Really, I'll be fine. I'll just-"

But my breath stopped as he leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against my forehead. His kiss grew cold against my skin and he pulled back looking at me expectantly, but his face fell when he saw my expression.

"Jamie, what's wrong? Your face is all red…"

"I'm fine!" I said pushing him away from me. "I'm just really warm."

My friends finally reached us, panting and gasping from the long run. "Jamie! Are you alright?" "What's wrong?" "Are you hurt?"

"Guys! I'm fine!" I said standing up and brushing the snow off my coat. "Let's build a snow fort!" I added trying to change the subject.

Monty and Claude were immediately behind the idea and ran off to gather supplies. The rest of us followed close behind. As we were walking, I reached up to touch my forehead. The cut was gone...

I shyly glanced over at Jack only to see him still looking at me with the same concerned expression from before. I quickly turned my head and walked faster as I felt my face start to heat up again.

Why was I so bothered anyway? It's not like I haven't done the same thing to my sister when she was hurt.

Maybe it was just because no one near my age has ever kissed me before. Not that Jack was anywhere near my age, but he only looked to be a few years older than me. Maybe it was just because he was a boy. It was weird…

I shook the thoughts out of my mind so I could focus on having fun. It's not every day that the Guardian of Fun comes to visit anyway, so I need to enjoy it while I can. My birthdays with Jack have been some of the best memories of my life, I only wish that he came more often…

At the end of the day, after my mom had sent me to bed, I opened my window to let in the spirit I knew was waiting for me. I could tell he was near, as ice had frosted and crept up the panes of the glass.

"So did you have a good birthday?" Jack asked as he floated down and nimbly crouched on the edge of my window.

"Yeah! It was awesome, thank you so much!" I said as a grin spread across my face the moment I saw him appear.

"Not a problem kiddo," he replied as he hopped fully into my room.

"Do you give a lot of kids a snow day on their birthday?" I asked smirking and looking sideways at him.

Jack chuckled and leaned on his staff as he said, "No. But then again, you're the only one whose birthday I know."

The comment made my chest swell a little bit. I liked feeling like I was special to him.

After a short pause, Jack added, "Well, I have to get going, Jamie. Lots to do and besides, you need to listen to your mom and go to sleep."

It always seemed like he left as quickly as he appeared. I felt myself deflate a little bit and stepped forward so I could hug him again, "You promise to come next year, right?" I asked him this every year, even though he's given me snow on my birthday since the year I saw him for the first time But part of me just wanted to hear him confirm it.

Jack didn't answer right away, but instead leaned his staff against the wall before leaning over to hug me back. He was…comfortable. He wasn't cold like I had originally thought, just pleasantly cool. And he even smelled like winter.

"Yeah…I promise," he told me slowly as he squeezed me a little. "I'll always be there for you, Jamie."

The comment made me so happy, I could have cried. But I didn't. I didn't want him to think I was a crybaby.

"Alright, I'll see you later kid," he said as he ruffled my hair.

I shoved his hand away and retorted, "I bet I'll be as tall as you next year!"

Jack dropped his hand before reaching out to pick up his staff. "Yeah, we'll see…" he said. However, my smile quickly faded as I felt something was off with the way he said that. The Guardian of Fun looked…sad.

"I'll see you around," he said as he hopped onto my window ledge before being blown away by the winter wind.

...

And that was the last time I ever saw Jack Frost…


	2. Ch 1: A Night to Remember

**So I decided to add some OC's right now, because it didn't feel right using characters from the movie.**

**Which, you might soon understand why. **

**I'm actually thinking of changing/revising/removing this chapter. So we'll see.**

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><p><span>A Night to Remember<span>

"So Jamie, did you find a date for the winter formal yet?"

"Uh…yeah. Pippa."

"God, finally. I thought you would never ask her," Alec replied in noticeable relief.

I bit my tongue as I put on my jacket and closed my gym locker. I didn't want to tell him that Pippa was the one who actually asked me to the dance. I didn't want to seem like a nervous underclassman in front of my team captain.

"Well, hey," he continued as he finished packing up his things, "I'm throwing an after-party up at my parents' cabin. You and Pippa should come."

I felt my eyes widen ever so slightly at the invitation. Alec was two years older than me. I knew he was a nice guy and a good leader, but I didn't expect him to want to hang out with me on his own terms.

"Uh…yeah that sounds awesome. Where is it?"

"I'll text you the address. It's not too far from here, just about a half hour or so," he said as he picked up his gym bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"Thanks," I responded looking up into his face and smiling a little in gratitude.

Alec warmly smiled back and replied, "Not a problem. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, see ya," I said as he walked around me to leave the locker room.

As he left, I felt my pocket vibrate and I knew that my mom had texted me letting me know she was here. I quickly picked up my own bag and exited the locker room and gym.

…

"So how was practice?" she asked after I had climbed into the seat next to her and buckled my seatbelt.

"Fine. Same as it always is, I guess," I told her. I know it's a parent's responsibility to check up on their kids, but life is just so freaking repetitive that nothing that interesting ever happens on a day-to-day basis. It seems like there should be better conversation-starters. It didn't help that we've run out of things to talk about. The car ride from my school to Sophie's school to home was ridiculously long. My school wasn't in our district, since it was a private school, so my mom had to always pick me up after she was done with work and then go to get Sophie from her after-school club.

"Well, do you think you'll be ready for your next meet?" she asked, taking her eyes off the road for a split second to glance over at me.

"Yeah…I think. The upperclassmen are all really good. And the coach is even going to bring in some martial artists occasionally to teach us different fighting techniques on top of what we've been practicing."

"Wow, that sounds exciting."

It did sound exciting. I was actually really happy that I had joined the wresting team. The other people on it and I all got along really well, and everyone was determined to kick butt in the meets and tournaments. The coaches were good trainers, and somehow made me feel more confident that my scrawny-self could actually win in a fight. Granted, I gained some muscle since I started training. But I never really saw myself as a physically capable person before. It made me feel good.

"So, are you ready for your first dance?" she asked sounding almost too curious.

"Come on, mom. It's not that big a deal. I'm just going with Pippa," I retorted back. Pippa and I had made a deal that if we both couldn't find dates by yesterday, we would go with each other. And it turned out the guy she wanted to ask already had a date, and I just wasn't debonair enough to ask anyone.

"Yeah, but I'm your mom. So everything you do is a big deal to me," she said throwing me a smile, which caused me to grin and roll my eyes. "Besides," she continued, "Even if you two just go as friends, you could still have a really good time."

I guess that was true. And there was the party Alec invited to me afterwards… Speaking of which.

"Hey mom," I asked trying to tread cautiously, "Could I borrow the car tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, of course. I was planning on letting you have it anyway," she said.

"Thanks…" I said while trying to delicately word my thoughts, "And would it be alright if I went over my Alec's house afterwards? He's having a team party since we have a meet next week."

It's not exactly a lie… After all, Alec or one of the other seniors would have a get-together the weekend before previous meets. It was to promote team morale or whatever. This was no different.

After a long pause, my mother finally gave me her answer, "Alright. But you know the rules. Text me when you get there and then before you leave for home. And keep your phone on you so I can call you."

A wave of relief washed through me and I felt myself sink into the car cushion. "Sure thing, mom," I said.

…

It seemed like a strange coincidence that the winter formal fell on Jamie's birthday. Of course, none of our friends at school knew this except me. And I promised Jamie to keep it quiet. I know how his birthday puts him in a bad mood.

I rang the doorbell to Jamie's house and waited. Even though I know Jamie and his family well enough to walk in unannounced, I felt that the current situation called for being traditional. It was cold, but at least there was no snow on the ground.

After a short moment, Jamie answered the door and his face lit up when he saw me, which caused my face to break out in an embarrassed smile. He looked good. He was already dressed and looked like he was just about to leave.

"Wow, Pippa. You look fantastic," he said opening the door more to let me in. "But aren't I supposed to come over and pick you up?"

"Yeah...well. You were taking too long," I teased.

He rolled his eyes, partly from my sarcasm and partly because his mom gasped when she rounded the corner to see me standing there.

"Oh, Pippa. You look beautiful! Come here, let me get a picture of you!" she said gesturing for me to stand by the stairs. I must have either made the right dress choice or both of them were just astounded to see me willingly wearing a dress. I wore the stupid uniform for school, but I always got in trouble for 'violating the dress code'. It peeved me so much that the girls were required to wear skirts, but the boys could wear pants.

Also by 'a picture', Mrs. Bennett really meant fifty pictures. She took photos of me, of Jamie, of Jamie and me, of us and Sophie, of us turned around to leave... You name it. Normally I would have been embarrassed by the attention, but I knew Jamie's family as if they were my family. Plus since my mom had to work late tonight at the hospital, she was depending on Mrs. Bennett for pictures.

"Alright you two have fun!" she called to us as we turned around to leave. "And don't forget to text me and Pippa's mom, Jamie!"

"For the thousandth time I won't forget, mom. Now can we go now?" he asked. I could tell he was getting irritated.

But Mrs. Bennett simply smiled at him and said, "Yes, I'm sorry. Go on and have a good time." She kissed Jamie and me goodbye and we both left to drive to the school.

"God, I thought we'd never get out of there," he exclaimed as he pulled out of his driveway in his mom's car.

"Oh come on, Jamie. She's just excited for us," I told him, trying to get him to lighten up.

"Not sure why…"

I snorted at his negativity. "She probably secretly hopes that we'll start dating or something and then live happily ever after," I said a little humorously. It's not that I've never thought about it. And to be honest, I've thought about it more and more since we entered high school together. But…at the same time, it would be really weird. He was my best friend, and I've heard too many stories about how dating someone ruins your friendship. Jamie was too important for me to risk that…

"Yeah, well," Jamie started to say, "I feel bad because you at least tried to ask someone else. I couldn't even work up the guts to do that."

"Don't worry about it, Jamie. There's just no one at the school you like enough to make a fool out of yourself for," I said jokingly. The downside of this private school was that it was a Catholic school with a lot fewer students than the public high school. There were only so many candidates to choose from.

I saw Jamie glance over at me as he drove before saying in a soft tone, "You do look really beautiful tonight, Pippa."

I felt my cheeks warm a little at the comment and replied, "Thank you…you too."

He quickly snorted before saying, "You think I look beautiful?"

"Shut up! You know what I mean," I said laughing and gently hitting his arm.

…

I gotta say, the dance was a lot more fun than I expected. The school rented out a small hall and the music wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I honestly thought they would resort to classical music and make us all ballroom dance while warning us to 'save room for Jesus'. Granted, I think I heard one chaperone say that. But overall, it was a good time.

We met up about halfway through with Alec and his date, Allison. I felt like my mother for a second when my own thoughts described them as a very good-looking couple. It's such an old-school phrase; although, it was true. They both had stunning blonde hair and Allison's dress was a rich-shade of blue that complimented her thinner frame really well. And I'll admit that Alec also looked good in a suit that sported a matching tie to Allison's dress, which was coincidentally a very similar blue to his eyes. Christ he had amazing eyes. In general…I felt jealous.

But that wasn't to say I was ashamed of Pippa. To be fair, she matured…extremely well. She wore a black, satin, strapless dress that had bright indigo flowers embroidered up one side, bordering a slit that exposed a matching indigo layer underneath. And she even wore make-up, which surprised me because I've never seen her with it before. However, it really brought out her eyes and made her look elegant. I guess I couldn't help but take some pride in the fact she was my date.

I jumped out of my thoughts when I felt someone put a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see Alec. "You know how to get there, right?" he pseudo-shouted at me over the music.

I turned a little to look at him. "Uh, yeah. I looked up the directions earlier. But, why are you leaving so early?" I asked considering there was still half an hour left of the formal.

"Yeah. Just to set up and stuff. Feel free to show up whenever though," he said smirking at me and I noticed his eyes flicker over to Pippa. I think he's got the wrong idea about her and me…

"Alright, see you soon!" I told him. He nodded and left out the main doors with Allison.

…

After driving and Pippa making fun of me for getting lost, we finally made it to Alec's cabin. It appeared to be part of a neighborhood that was situated near the lake. If it weren't for the light coming out of the house, the area would have been a lot more eerie considering that the forest was pitch black.

As we walked in, we were greeted with loud music and cheers from the people who got there before us.

"What's going on?" I asked smiling at Alec as he walked over to us.

"Nothing, they're doing that for everyone that walks in. But come on in," he said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me into the kitchen. "Help yourself," he said gesturing to a keg and an array of liquor bottles on the counter.

"I...uh…" I faltered not really knowing what to do.

"You haven't had a drink before have you?" he asked. He wasn't being condescending, just making an observation.

"Ehm…no," I admitted honestly.

"Don't worry about it. I'll look after you. Just stop at three beers and see how you feel. I can guarantee that three won't really do much to you," he said reassuringly.

I gave him a small smile before grabbing a cup to fill it with beer. I did trust Alec. In fact, I kind of looked up to him.

And Alec's advice would have probably been solid, if it weren't for the two shots I did in addition to the beers…

"Damn Jamie, I didn't realize how hard you partied," Alec said laughing a little as he took a drink.

"Yeah, me neither," I said glancing over at Pippa. She was sitting next to me on the couch and I had my arm around her. She had brought a change of clothes with her, whereas my clothes just became heavily disheveled. My shirt had come untucked and I had to loosen my tie and roll up my sleeves. The apartment was really hot… But I liked how much the alcohol made me relax. Why the hell was I so worried about getting close to Pippa anyway? Maybe by the end of the night I could…

"You don't even know partying, Alec," Allison exclaimed interrupting my thoughts, "I don't think you'll be able to keep up with me when we go off to university next year."

"Heh, and why's that?" Alec said smirking over at her and taking another drink.

"Because you know I can go harder and longer than you," she said winking over at him, causing a couple of guys around us to laugh at Alec for the wicked burn his girlfriend gave him. I found it really hard to hide a grin as well. I just didn't expect that out of the petite blonde girl.

"Tch- And what exactly was the hardest partying you've ever done?" he inquired curiously while raising an eyebrow at her.

"Oh…you know," she said thoughtfully while crossing her legs, "I went to my sister's friend's party a few months ago, it was all girls. And we ended up drinking so much that I ended up making out with this other girl. And you missed it," she added teasingly pointing at him with her pinky finger.

Alec's smirk grew wider as he said, "Eh, I call bullshit. You're just making stuff up at this point."

"Say what you want. Doesn't change the fact that she was a better kisser than you. Must just be a girl's natural trait," she added giggling. A loud, drawn-out OH came from the rest of the group at how she managed to burn him a second time.

"Well put your tongue where your mouth is Alli," Alec's best friend Mikey challenged while perching himself on the arm of the couch. "I dare you to kiss Pippa and prove it," he said smirking at her.

My smile faded and I instantly glanced over at Pippa, whose face I saw had reddened a little. I knew why she was nervous. "Pippa," I muttered so only she could hear, "You don't have to if you don't want to. I'll tell them to-"

"No, it's alright Jamie," she said quietly. "Better I practice on someone I don't care about first, right?" she asked rhetorically, while smiling a little over at me.

"Right…" I said slowly. I knew that Pippa hadn't kissed anyone yet and that she was kind of saving it for someone important. But, if she was alright with it…

Pippa got up off the couch and leaned over the coffee table towards Allison. But Allison put her hands up to stop her before saying, "Woah, woah, woah. If I'm doing a dare it's only fair you guys do too. If I have to kiss Pippa, I dare you," she said pointing at Alec, "to kiss Jamie."

My eyes grew wide and I saw Alec glance over at me before boldly looking back at his girlfriend and agreeing casually, "Fine, whatever."

"Alright," Allison said grinning at him. "Come here, beautiful," she said playfully as she stood up and leaned over the table.

The instant those two locked lips, the guys all broke into a roar of hoots and hollers. I on the other hand just watched Pippa as if in a trance. She and Allison were trying not to smile as their lips gently pressed together and pulled apart. Those few seconds they were kissing passed by almost in slow-motion. And as Pippa pulled back, Allison licked Pippa's top lip, which caused Pippa to burst out in a high-pitch giggle as she fell back next to me with her hand over her mouth. God, she was cute.

"Alright, gentlemen!" Allison exclaimed as the rest of the party had gathered around us at that point.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a man of my word," Alec said as he turned his body towards mine and took a sip of his drink.

I leaned up on one knee and turned towards him. The group around us started to count down and I could already feel my face reddening in embarrassment. I haven't really kissed anyone before either. And now I had to do it in front of everyone? How…? But Alec smiled at me encouragingly and held out his cup offering me another drink. I took the cup and downed a large gulp, of which I realized was a rum and coke. As I slowly swallowed that liquid courage, I heard the crowd reach the number three.

Before the crowd even managed to make it to one, I felt Alec gently hold the side of my head as he smoothly leaned into me.

At that moment, I think my breath stopped. His lips were soft and gently moved against mine, guiding me and my movements almost reflexively. As if they were off in the distance I heard the loud cheers of the girls just as the guys had done for Pippa and Allison. But mostly I was concentrating on not messing up.

I felt Alec grab onto my hip as he tilted his head and pushed into me. Without even thinking, I opened my mouth and gave him my tongue, which prompted the room to burst out into screaming. He playfully toyed with my tongue for a while before biting onto my lip.

"Oh my God! They're so into it!" a random female voice shrieked in the background, which prompted me to reach up and pull Alec's hips against mine.

After a few more seconds we both halted and I opened my eyes to see Mikey pulling Alec away from me, whose cheeks displayed a prominent blush and he buried his face into his hand.

"Hey Alec! Say hi!" one of the girls called to him and I looked over to see her holding up her phone to us. He laughed and pushed her hand away, which caused her to focus on me. "Come on Jamie!" she said trying to insinuate me to acknowledge what just happened. Bashfully, I smiled and ran my hand through my hair before holding my fist out in a peaceful gesture to Alec, which he reciprocated and bumped his knuckles against mine. It was a measly effort at restoring our manhood.

…

The next week at school was…interesting. The girl who took the video of us had posted it on an app that included all the students in the school. So the story spread in a heartbeat. I noticed girls staring at me more in the hallway, and even blush once they realized I had noticed them watching me. It was the weirdest and most satisfactory feeling I've ever had. I couldn't help grinning myself when I walked past them.

Outside of practice, the only time I saw Alec was during Psychology. My mind was having a hard time pushing the kiss out of my mind, but not even he let me forget about it.

I was sitting in the back, half-paying attention to what the teacher was explaining when I saw him turn around to look at me. He smirked when I caught his eye and pursed his lips to silently kiss at me. My face reddened a little and I hid my embarrassed grin behind my hand. I looked up after a second and he was smirking at me, but then he seductively ran his tongue along his lip as if trying to entice me. I removed my hands and attempted to return the gesture; however, I cracked halfway through and ended up grinning before averting my eyes.

Could I honestly say that I enjoyed the playful flirting? I've never been much of a flirtatious person, but with Alec it was easy for some reason. Maybe it was because we were already friends, or maybe it was because we had already kissed. Which…still managed to make my stomach flop whenever I imagined it. If kissing a guy was that good…I could only imagine what kissing a girl would do to me…

"Uhm, I'm looking for an Alec Pearson? They need you in the office for a second" a voice behind me called. Everyone turned around, including me, to see the athletic director in the doorway leaning inside.

"Alec," the teacher nodded to him and dismissing him from class before resuming her lecture.

I picked up my pen to try and continue taking notes on the history of psychotherapy; however, as Alec walked past my desk, he discretely traced his fingers up my right arm. I smirked ever so slightly, but resisted looking at him out of fear of drawing attention to our antics. Although, I couldn't help but feel as though his fingers left a trail of electricity up my arm…

…

But all thoughts about the party and the attention I was getting in school were finally pushed out my mind at practice. Our coach was relentless and pushed us to the limit constantly. At least practice this week was interesting though. He brought in an instructor, who spent the last hour of each day teaching us basic judo. The idea was to either get us interested in other fighting styles, or at least train us in other methods of fighting.

As this was my first year, I had never received this instruction or was very good at it. I tried my best, but that didn't stop me from getting flipped by my teammates a lot.

"Mikey! You and Jamie!" the instructor called to him before pairing up everyone else.

Ah great. The team was already giving him and I crap for what happened at the party, and Mikey was one of the worst. Now I'd have to hear him taunt me about how Alec takes my breath away or how cute I am on my back. I knew they were teasing, but it still managed to bother me.

As expected, Mikey flipped me within like five seconds. We were in the same weight class, but he was definitely stronger and better than me. However, our coach and instructor told us constantly that strength doesn't ensure victory when it comes to wrestling or fighting.

I jumped back up and prepared my stance. My bangs were stuck to my forehead, so I blew a breath up to cool myself a little. He smirked at me again as if daring at me to try and take him. We took several seconds sizing each other up, but then Mikey quickly found his opening and came at me again, wrapping his arms around my waist to flip me. But on the way down, I grabbed his leg pulling him off balance, causing him to fall with me.

He quickly recovered and crawled on top of me, crossing my arms behind my back and holding them there, using our combined weight to prevent me from moving. I grunted and struggled to break my arms free. But he kept me pinned…

Then as if to further restrain me further, he shoved his knee between my legs and crossed his ankles underneath mine, completely preventing me from kicking free.

I clenched my teeth and panted through them, struggling to escape however I could. If this were a real meet, I would have lost so hard.

I attempted to thrash in any way I could, but Mikey only responded by tightening his grip.

"Mikey…stop," I grimaced, arching my back to try and push him off of me as best as I could.

I opened my eyes and looked up at him. His dark hair was also heavily disheveled and he was looking at me with the smallest hint of a smirk. As if he liked seeing me like this.

"What?" he said in a low tone, "I thought you liked this kind of thing."

At that moment I realized that he wasn't just joking around with me. "Get off," I growled still struggling to push him off of me. I glanced around the gym, but the coaches were spotting other pairs.

"Say you'll quit the team and I will," he demanded under his breath.

I knew Mikey never liked me, but I didn't realize he wanted me off the team entirely. And the last thing I wanted was to give him that satisfaction.

"No," I grunted while attempting to twist my body and roll him off of me; however, he was unmovable.

"Well...Can't say I didn't ask nicely," he said. And then suddenly, he roughly shoved his lips against mine before springing off of me and wickedly smirking down at me. "Get up, faggot," he sneered causing several people around us to glance over.

I wasn't about to put up with that. Burning with anger, I stood up and stormed out of the gym. I needed to get out…

"Jamie!" I heard Alec call from behind me. But the damage was already done. Mikey and the rest of them weren't just teasing. They wanted me gone.

My eyes burned as I grabbed my bag from my locker desperately trying to settle my thoughts. What the fuck was I even thinking at the party?

"Hey," I heard his voice as he rounded the row of lockers to see me. He leaned one hand on the wall as his back rose and fell from panting heavily. "Wait-"

"Just get away from me," I choked out, betraying the tears I was holding back, before turning to head away.

"Jamie!" he called again.

"LEAVE ME ALONE, ALRIGHT!" I yelled at him before turning out the door. I didn't want him to follow me. I didn't want to talk to him. I just needed to get away.

It was pouring rain. I sniffed once before pulling out my cell phone.

"Hello?" I never thought I would be so happy to hear my mom's voice in my life.

"Hey, mom, I need you to come get me."

"Honey, I can't right now. I'm in a meeting and I'm across town."

"Please, mom," I begged as the tears finally broke free and fell down my cheek.

"I'm sorry, baby, but the soonest I could be there is in another hour…"

"Fine, never mind. I'll see you at home," I said curtly before hanging up. My mom was supposed to be there for me. But she was always fucking working. Why, for once, couldn't she come through when I really needed her?

Frustrated, the only thing I could do was turn around and kick the metal door as hard as I could. Then I remembered that Alec or someone was probably still in there…

I turned tail and ran as fast as I could across the campus grass. I ran down the streets. I ran as far as I could, the cold rain soaking instantly into my clothes, but I didn't care. I didn't care that my house was ten miles from my school. I didn't care that my lungs burned and my hands were numb.

By the time I got home, my body was frozen. I unlocked the door to my house and trudged up the stairs and upon entering my room, stripped myself of all my wet clothes and crawled under my covers.

I was shivering erratically. I curled into a ball and hugged my knees trying to conserve my heat, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. At the same time, I still liked the cold. As if feeling my body numb could also numb my thoughts and feelings. I didn't even know what to think anymore.

Yeah I kissed Alec. But I like girls. I wanted nothing more than to kiss Pippa when I was drunk that night. Her…yet I kissed him. And then I flirted with him. Maybe there's just something about him…

Not that it matters. I couldn't look at him ever again. He was just messing around with me. He didn't mean any of it.

The tears bled from my eyes as I held my knees against me. I was just starting to warm up when I heard my mom and sister downstairs. Next thing I knew, my mom quietly opened the door to check on me.

"Jamie?" she asked quietly.

I didn't move. I would rather pretend to be asleep than talk to her. The last thing I wanted to do was tell my mom about my day today. Thankfully, she left after a minute.

Lost in thought, I lay there for hours. So many hours as countless questions flooded my mind so quickly that I didn't know how to deal with them. What would people say?

Realizing I could check, I got out of bed and walked over to my bag before pulling out my cell phone. I logged on to the gossip app, which just the previous day was filled with stupid rumors about who hooked up with whom after the winter formal. Now, the first thing I saw was with Mikey's pseudonym:

**Hilarious! Jamie Bennett couldn't help but cream himself once Alec had his hands all over him. #wrestlefag #off the team #pitch a tent much?**

Jesus-FUCK! That didn't even fucking happen! He wanted me off the team that bad? Why?

And then there was more. So much more.

**Adam and Eve, not Adam and Jamie Bennett. #fag #banBennett**

**No place for homos at our school. #banBennett**

**I hope he dies from AIDS. #banBennett**

**Knew he was gay. His hair is too fabulous.**

**No wonder he joined the wresting team. #pervert #banBennett**

**Sinners to hell! #banBennett**

**Fucking fairy trash #banBennett**

I cry escaped my throat and before I knew it, I chucked my phone against the far wall. Leaning down into my knees, I pulled at my hair and sobbed relentlessly.

This would spread like wildfire. That school is extremely conservative and any scrap of a reputation I had was about to be shattered. I couldn't go back there. Just after one night. One mistake.

After several minutes, my body started to shiver again. It was late. My mom and sister had already gone to bed. I walked over to my dresser and pulled out pajama pants and a sweatshirt. My feet were still freezing, I could feel a draft coming in from outside.

Walking over to lock my window, little swirling flecks caught my attention. It was snowing…

Changing my mind, I threw open my window and leaned out on the ledge.

"Jack! Jack! Please!" I called out begging like an idiot. "Please! I still believe in you! I don't ask you for anything, but please come back! You promis-" I felt my voice crack as I realized there was no one out there. He wasn't coming. I'm too old to have a Guardian…

I buried my face in my hands, feeling truly alone for the first time in my life. There was no one else I could talk to.

No one I could turn to…

* * *

><p><strong>Interesting enough? Or god-awful?<strong>

**Let me know! Reviews always appreciated and encourage me to write faster!**

***Disclaimer: I did take several scenes from the movie "Suicide Room". I don't like straight-up taking scenes from movies and originally wasn't going to include a backstory of Jamie at all. But when I saw the film I thought "What a fantastic way to incorporate the issue of cyber bullying into this!" So that's why I did that. Incredible movie by the way, but extremely sad. ****  
><strong>

****the rest of this story will be nothing like the rest of that movie. I couldn't write something that good anyway.**


	3. Ch 2: Stitches and Kisses

Stitches and Kisses

"You sure you don't want a ride home, Jamie? My club probably isn't going to meet for the whole two hours, since it's our last day before break," I heard Pippa say as they left the school building.

"Yeah, it's fine. Walking helps clear my head anyway," Jamie responded back to her.

I saw Pippa hesitate, watching him with a look of genuine concern. But after a moment, she smiled slightly and reached her arms up to wrap them around his neck. "Alright, I'll see you tonight?" she reappraised as if doubting Jamie's dedication.

"Yeah, I'll see you later," he said, albeit I couldn't see the expression on his face.

Jamie turned away from Pippa and left with the other straggling students down the steps of the old building. He wore a longer, woolen, black coat to help combat the encroaching winter, and he walked with his hands in his pockets. But it still amazed me how much he had grown. He was no longer that small, free-spirited child whose face lit up at the sight of a snowflake. No… he had grown up.

I sighed and plopped down on the branch in the tree, letting my legs swing freely in the air. What was North even talking about? Jamie looked fine to me…

…

The last thing I remember was relaxing somewhere in Canada, when I was monstrously ambushed from behind and stuffed into a burlap sack by some hairy beast. The next thing I knew, I had tumbled out into the jolliest-man-in-the-world's foyer.

I rolled out of the smelly sack the minute the ties were loosened and lightly stood up, summoning my staff back to my hand as I did so. Needless to say, I wasn't happy. But North wasn't looking to be his usual boisterous self either. He stood tall, with his arms crossed in front of him, staring at me critically while one of his elves cowered behind his leg at the sight of me.

"Can't you just, you know, send me a postcard or a messenger like a normal person?" I asked haughtily while brushing dirt off my shirt.

"I did. You froze him."

I smirked a little and replied, "Yeah…must not have realized it was importan-"

"Three time," the currently unenthused Russian elaborated while holding up three meaty fingers.

I sighed in defeat. True, I had been ignoring North as of late. But he's been constantly pestering me with rules and responsibilities that I had to adhere to. Part of me seriously regretted becoming a Guardian…if only I knew how much work was required…

"Alright, what did I do this time?" I asked not bothering to keep the negativity out of my voice.

"Where to start…" North said while reaching down to his elf, who pulled a scroll out from Moon-knows-where and handed it up to the bearded man. "Well, you freeze Frankie three times. You ignore summon by me."

I rolled my eyes at how pointless it was for him to repeat those.

"You cause massive blizzard in Hong Kong."

"Now **that** wasn't my fau-"

"You steal Bunny's eggs-"

"Just a few…"

"**Five hundred eggs**, fly into air, drop them on rooftops, and cause whole town to smell like toilet two week later."

I stifled a laugh and rubbed the back of my neck. It couldn't be helped. I had to get back at Bunny for making flowers grow out of my staff two years ago… Figures he would have tattled to North about it though.

North continued in spite of my snicker, "I'll skip to most important part, because is something I don't think you understand." He rolled up his scroll and stared at me intently, causing the smirk to disappear from my face, "Is one thing for child to grow out of us. Is other thing for us to ignore the ones who need us."

I pursed my lips and looked off to the side. This could only lead to one thing…

"You need to visit Jamie Bennett, Jack."

I rubbed my lips together nervously before saying, "I thought you said it was against the rules to show ourselves too often."

"Is also against rules to ignore those who need us."

"He doesn't need me. He's grown up now, North. Practically an adult," I said while nabbing a snowglobe from a side table and absent-mindedly tossing it up in the air and catching it as it fell.

"You check my globe, no?" he asked while walking over to his world of believers. It was littered with millions of tiny golden lights, representing all believers in the world.

"I mean, yeah. It's the same as it's ever been," I replied watching the ball as I threw it a bit higher.

But then North pressed a blue button on the bottom, causing many of the lights to go out. I stopped tossing the ball and looked up at the large globe to see that some of the gold lights had been replaced with glittering, blue flecks scattered in small clusters around the globe.

"What's that?" I asked, my brows coming together as I looked over at the burly man.

"That is your magic. All those children who believe in you. They're more, no? And there is Jamie," he added pointing to the brightest light on the globe. "You have him to thank for that."

I slowly walked up to the globe, not sure of what to think. Jamie…still believed in me? But…he had to be sixteen by now. And how…

"How did he do this?" I whispered, reaching out to touch the glittering globe.

"His story," North answered simply, "Your story. He inspire many people. They now believe in your magic because of him."

I…couldn't believe it. There were so many… Not nearly as much as North's or Bunny's, but still… How did he inspire so many people across the world?

"He's been wishing for you to come, you know."

Drawn out of my thoughts, I looked up at North. He looked…somber all of a sudden. "He's been wishing to you?" I asked perplexed.

North nodded his head solemnly. "Is only thing he ever ask for. He needs his Guardian, Jack."

Shaking my head, I backed away from the globe. "You know I can't, North."

"Jack," North said abruptly, "You cannot control what will come. But him not seeing you has done nothing. He still believes in you as much as ever. And you have responsibility to this child as long as he does. SO…" he reached out to take the snowglobe from me and quickly shattered it against the ground, causing a glowing, swirling portal to appear.

"Do your job," he added jovially as I felt a rough shove to my back, and before I knew it, I was rocketing through the portal and was spit out into a snow pile in the city of Burgess.

…

And that was how I ended up here. Well, I flew up into the tree on my own after recovering my sense of direction. No thanks to North.

I watched Jamie pass by, his hands in his pockets and his head down. He wasn't what I had expected; although, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. Sadness perhaps? Or maybe anger? The rebel-without-a-cause persona always seemed to attract a lot of teenagers. But no, he looked…tired. Or maybe I just couldn't read him anymore. Growing up tends to force a lot of people to don a mask that hides their true character, be it good or bad. I decided that it was probably better to follow him and see if the Jamie I knew would come out.

However, I decided to keep my distance. I'll admit, I was afraid. I wouldn't be surprised if he was angry with me, or for all I knew he'd be overjoyed to see me again. I hoped for the latter…

I hopped from tree to tree, keeping him in my sight. We had gone quite a distance from the school when I saw him walk by a small park. He turned his head toward the open expanse as if hearing something, and a moment later I saw two boys about his age emerge and walk over to him. One had dark hair and the other was a bit of a porker.

Fortunately, the trees had grown dense enough for me to get within hearing range. I figured the two boys couldn't see me, but I was still wary of Jamie. But as I perched myself in a branch directly above them, their conversation wasn't what I expected.

"I quit the team and I'm transferring schools. What more do you want from me?" Jamie demanded as he attempted to side-step around the darker-haired boy.

However, the darker-haired boy stepped in front of him, cutting him off and replied with a smirk, "A kiss good-bye might be nice."

"Just leave me alone already, Mikey," Jamie responded coldly while trying to get around the darker-haired boy.

The boy he called Mikey continued to block Jamie's path. "What? Gonna run to your fairies to save you now?" he asked while maintaining his wicked sneer.

"Fuck off."

The boy behind Jamie then spoke up, "Probably should have just done your mum a favor and offed yourself. Would have saved her the trouble of raising a fairy-boy schizo-"

Before he could finish his sentence Jamie instantaneously dropped his backpack and turned around to face Pudgy. He quickly raised his arm and went to throw a punch, but Mikey wrapped his arms over Jamie's to hold him back. Jamie struggled against him, but the larger boy just continued to talk, "I guess it doesn't really matter. If you don't do yourself in, the AIDS will just get ya eventually."

Red in the face, Jamie leaned back into the darker-haired boy and kicked Porky square in the stomach. Mikey stumbled back against the force, but managed to hold onto Jamie while he regained his balance. The larger boy doubled over, clutching his gut, but quickly recovered and looked back up at Jamie as he said, "Why you little-"

I couldn't help myself. As Captain Blimpy took a step towards Jamie, I froze the ground underneath him, which caused him to slip from the unexpected ice slick and fall flat on his back. I had to shove my fist in my mouth to stop myself from laughing at the sight. However, without missing a beat, Jamie threw his head back and clunked his skull against Mikey's. The darker-haired boy released him, clutching his forehead from the pain. But the other boy had already stood back up, angrier than before. At this point, the two had Jamie backed up against a fence.

I had to save him. I summoned up a pool of magic, but before I could unleash it, Jamie pulled out a pocket knife, slashed himself across his palm, and held it up to his attackers.

"You want it? HUH?!" he screamed at them as red started to seep from his hand.

The two boys instantly retracted and took a couple steps away from Jamie. Jamie stepped towards them, smearing some blood onto his other hand and presenting them to the two boys as if in ritualistic offering.

Mikey simply stared at Jamie's hands wide-eyed while shaking his head. "You're insane, Bennett," he muttered as he continued to back away. "Let's go, Ned," he ordered Chubby. Then together, they turned and briskly strode away.

Jamie stood there for several long moments. I could see his breath hang in the air as he panted; however, he never took his eyes off his departing attackers. But he didn't look for me like I thought he would. Did he not notice the ice that had suddenly appeared on the ground?

After he must have deemed it safe to turn his back, Jamie picked up his pack and continued on his path home. Now was as good a time as any.

"Jamie!" I called as I gently landed behind him. "Hey! Are you o...k?" I trailed off when I realized that he wasn't turning around to face me.

I skated up alongside him. "Jamie?" I asked. But he didn't turn his head to face me. Didn't even make notice that someone was there.

He…he believed in me. Why couldn't he see me? Or hear me?

"JAMIE!" I called after him as he continued to walk away from me.

This…this couldn't be true. Was he too old? Maybe he believed in me but was too grown-up to see me? But that didn't make any sense…

I stood there, frozen as I watched him walk away. My heart was pounding out of my chest. I had been gone five years, hoping he'd forget. Hoping he'd grow-up and move on like most children did. But actually standing here, facing the reality that my first believer couldn't see me… I couldn't take it.

I quickly flew to catch up with him and landed a short distance directly in his path. Clutching my staff and bracing myself for the worst I yelled at him as loud as I could.

"JAMIE! I know you believe in me! So don't you DARE pass through me!" I winced as I heard his steps approach and prepared myself for the emptiness of a body moving through mine. But it didn't happen.

In fact, his shoulder roughly shoved me as he walked by.

"Jamie?" I asked, opening my eyes and turning around to look at him. He could see me. He knew I was there. "Jamie! Why are you ignoring me?!" I yelled after him.

Finally, the brunette stopped in his tracks and turned around to face me. "Funny," he started, "I should be the one asking you that."

"What are you talking about?" I asked perplexed.

"Five YEARS, Jack!" he yelled as he glared straight at me. "Five years and you **finally **decide to show up **now?**"

I stood there immobile after hearing the anger in his voice. I guess I should have expected that.

"You know," he continued heatedly, "I would have understood if I was just too old. But now I know it wasn't because of me. I thought you cared about me, but I guess I was wrong." And with that, he turned and started to walk away from me again.

"Jamie, wait!" I called as I walked to try and keep up with him. "It…it wasn't like that. I do care about you. I-"

"Bullshit."

I winced a little at his use of language. "Jamie!" I called, my voice begging to make him stop and listen to me for just a minute. "You think I wanted to break my promise to you!" I shouted at him. "You were my favorite kid!" I bit my tongue immediately after saying that. I wasn't allowed to have favorites.

But to my relief, Jamie stopped and turned around to look at me. His expression had at least changed from angry to suspicious. "I was your **what?**" he asked me, eyeing me with distrust.

The words had already slipped, I couldn't take them back now. "You- you were," I couldn't stop my voice from stuttering as my hands clenched around my staff. "You- you were the first person to see me… The first one to bother telling me his birthday… Do you seriously think I would spend entire **days **with just any kid?" I asked him.

He stared me down for a minute, as if inspecting my sincerity. Finally he said, "It wasn't just me. You spent time with my friends too."

"Well y-yeah," I added walking towards him. "But it was on **your** birthday. I wanted you to have fun…" I stopped several feet from him. After all these years, I needed him to forgive me. Now that I knew he could still see me, I wanted to help him.

"I need to get home," he said with a note of finality to it. I felt myself deflate a little, until he said, "You can come with me though…If you want."

I instantly perked back up again and jumped into the wind until I had landed beside him. We walked for a while in silence. Moons, walking is tedious business. Flying was always so much more fun…

After a seemingly long amount of time, I garnered up the courage to look at him again. I noticed he was still clutching his wounded hand.

"Why did you do that?" I asked in a low voice while nodded toward his hand.

Jamie glanced over at me and responded in an equally soft tone, "They think I'm diseased. And I knew it would make them go away."

"You're sick?" I asked confused.

"No, they just think I am," he mumbled.

Still confused, but not willing to press him any further, I tried to lighten the mood. "Here, let me fix it," I said slowing my pace and reaching out my hand.

He looked at me skeptically for a moment, but stopped walking and hesitantly gave me his hand. Turning his palm over in mine, I summoned some snow and brushed it over his palm to wipe off the blood. Then I briskly leaned down and pressed my lips against it while releasing a small burst magic.

The wound closed up and Jamie retracted his hand from me and held it up to examine it in astonishment.

"How did you do that?" he asked me in complete bewilderment.

I was never really asked how I did things before. I didn't really know how to explain it. Nervously, I took a step backwards and rubbed the back of my neck. "I dunno," I began, "I just…sewed it up." Jamie continued to stare at me in utter confusion, which prompted me to continue, "I stitched it together using tiny ice crystals. It's still there, but it'll heal faster."

Jamie looked back down at his hand examining it once again before turning his eyes back on me. "But how come the ice doesn't melt?" he asked.

Geez, what is **with** him now? He never would have interrogated me like this when he was a kid.

"You never questioned how I create ice and snow out of nowhere, but you're confused how I keep it from melting?" I replied cynically. "It's just my magic, Jamie. I can hold it there until your hand heals."

At that, I finally saw him crack a smile. "But why do you have to kiss it?" he asked curiously.

"I…I don't know. Isn't that what you're supposed to do when someone's hurt?"

His smile grew a little more and he replied, "To a kid, maybe."

I guess that made sense... "I forgot, you're not a kid anymore," I told him honestly.

"Yeah," he affirmed, "A lot can happen in five years."

An awkward silence fell between us as I just stared down at the ground. I didn't know what to tell him. I couldn't tell him the truth, no matter how much the guilt gnawed at my brain.

"But you know…" he interrupted my thoughts and took a step closer to me, "I'm finally taller than you now," he added with a smirk as he stood a couple inches over me.

I smirked up at him and replied, "Yeah, you're definitely not a kid anymore… You're just a brat."

Jamie grinned down at me, seemingly proud of my response. Then without a word, he continued walking, with me following right behind him.

* * *

><p><strong>Hopefully everyone is having a good holiday!<strong>

**Tell me what you think so far! Do you like my portrayal of Jack's character?**

**I have an extremely different idea for him in this story as opposed to my last one. So I'm just curious what you think so far.**


	4. Ch 3: Forgetting to Remember

**Woops! Sorry for the long pause.  
><strong>

**Shame on me for thinking I'd have a bunch of free time over winter break. **

**However, I'm excited as ever to get this story going!**

**So many scenarios in my head...**

**So, enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span>Forgetting to Remember<span>

"So your room," Jack began as he tentatively walked through my bedroom door holding his staff against his side so it would fit. "It's…different," he finished as he looked around at everything.

I was more surprised that he even remembered what it used to look like. He had only ever been in it a handful of times and only for a few minutes.

"Yeah," I confirmed the obvious for him. "I figured it would be weird for a teenager to have a room with stuffed animals and cartoon space sheets, so I decided to redecorate."

I realized that it did probably look way more different than the last time he was in here. I had gotten rid of most of my kid stuff and instead invested in a computer, which was a good decision in my mind. I worked three summers to get it and it was beautiful. As for decorations, I didn't really want to display my drawings on my walls anymore. So I painted my walls navy blue and opted for band posters instead. Maybe I was a little nostalgic for some of my old stuff, but I still thought my room looked bad ass.

"But…you got rid of all your toys and stuff…" Jack said in a quieter tone as he remained by the doorway and continued to examine the perimeter of my bedroom.

I stood there staring at him in shock. What did he expect me to do? Play with trains and dinosaurs for the rest of my life? Not that it didn't sound appealing, but I still had my other hobbies-

All of a sudden Jack made a light leap and proceeded to scurry about my room a little erratically. He bent down to examine my bookshelf before prancing over my bed to check out my desk, knocking on my computer once, before dropping down flat on the ground to search under my bed.

"Woah, woah, woah, what the fuck are you doing?!" I asked exasperated as I pulled him by the leg to get him away from my bed.

"First of all," Jack said a little annoyed as he kicked free of my grip and stood back up, "I'd rather you didn't swear so much."

My eyebrows came together at his unwarranted demand. Who was he to tell me what to do anyway?

"Second," he continued, "You're worse off than I thought."

"What are you talking about?" I asked him while crossing my arms.

He smirked a little and looked to his right as he replied, "North said you were asking for me, but I didn't realize how lame you got without me around." He picked up the magic eight ball I had on my desk and tossed it up and down a few times.

I frowned at his gross assumption and retorted, "I do stuff. Just because I don't play with toys doesn't mean I don't have fun anymore."

"Well what do you do then?" he asked as he leaned his staff against the wall and shook the magic eight ball to read his fortune.

"Just…stuff. None of your business," I settled before grabbing the magic eight ball out of his hand and putting it back on my desk. "So you only came here because North told you about me?" I asked heatedly.

I softened a little after seeing his expression shrink after I said that. "No…" he said looking down at the floor. "But he did say I was what you wished for… But why me?" he asked turning his crystal blue eyes up to look at me.

"I…" I didn't know how to answer him because I wasn't entirely certain myself. "I dunno…" I fumbled while rubbing the back of my head and averting my gaze. "I guess it all started when I lost most of my friends. I felt alone and…just wanted to have fun and be carefree again. Like when I was a kid." And with that I glanced sideways at him to check on his reaction. It was mostly the truth. I didn't want to tell him that the happiest days of my life were when he was around. That I hoped that despite everything, I could forget it all and feel like that again.

"Oh…" he trailed off averting his gaze from me this time. He rubbed his arm in thought for a minute before asking, "What happened to your friends?"

I bit my lip not really wanted to divulge my whole history to him. I didn't know if it was something he would understand. After so many people turning on me for what happened, I didn't want to risk the same thing with him. That is…maybe spirits didn't even care about that sort of thing.

"I'd really rather not talk about it," I said in a low tone.

"I saw Pippa was still talking to you," he added. "Are the others..?"

I realized then that he was talking about my childhood friends. "Oh…Pippa and I enrolled in a private school, so I kinda lost touch with them. Caleb and Claude moved several years ago, but Monty and Cupcake are still around. I'm switching back to public school after winter break, so I'll probably see them again…" I really wished that I didn't stop hanging out with them now. Pippa and I would always be friends, and hopefully Monty and Cupcake would still be willing to talk to me.

"I see…" he replied going back to rubbing his arm. He shifted his weight back and forth on his feet as if nervous about something.

"What?" I asked him wishing he would just come out with it. He seemed much less confident now that I was older. Maybe he was just afraid of making me mad again.

"It's just…. While I was at North's I saw…" he trailed off again and bit his lip as he reformulated his words, "How did you-"

"Jamie!" I heard my mom call from downstairs, "Can you come here and help bring the groceries in?!"

I looked at him unsure of how to react, but he motioned with his head for me to go see her.

"Yeah mom! I'll be right down!" I yelled back. I threw one last look at Jack before turning to head downstairs.

I shoved my feet into my boots, not bothering to tie them and walked outside without a coat to help my mom and sister with the bags. I made sure to do them a favor and grab the heavy stuff. My mom had a bad neck and couldn't really do heavy lifting.

"Hey hun, how was your last day?" she asked throwing me her concerned-mother expression.

"It was fine. Glad I'm done though," I replied before setting the bags on the floor by the door so I could take my wet boots off.

"Yeah, you made the right decision," she said setting down a couple bags. "Even though it would have been satisfying to sue the pants off those people," she added sardonically.

I let out a quiet laugh at her vengeful attitude. After the gossip spread about me, the video eventually got into the hands of the administrators. Alec had already graduated at that point, so I received the full attention of the school board.

The Dean 'respectfully' asked me to withdraw from the school based on the school's code of conduct. That I was in violation of the school's belief structure. But he made sure to make it clear that it wasn't the fact I was attracted to the same-sex, it was because I had acted on it and disrupted the learning environment. However they were willing to ignore the bunch of drunk minors in the background.

Even though my mom and I would have had a case, I didn't want to go through with it. I already received enough harassment from the student body that I didn't want to stay there even if we had won. I just wanted to be done with them and their hypocrisy.

"So how was school Sophie?" I asked looking down at her as she put her coat away.

"It was awesome! My class threw this huge party and we-" she paused in her excitement and I saw her eyes widen and her jaw drop in shock.

I quickly turned around and saw Jack standing in the hallway waiting for me. He smiled awkwardly and waved before pressing himself against the wall to allow my mother to pass by.

"What else happened Soph?" she called before coming back into the kitchen, forcing Jack against the wall again.

I swung back around to face Sophie and placed a finger in front of my lips to sign that she keep quiet about it.

"I…uh… It was just really fun," she stumbled still staring wide-eyed at Jack. He looked awkwardly side to side as if not sure about what he should do. She then picked up again and said in a rush, "I actually wrote a story for you Jamie. Can we go up to your room so I can read it to you?"

"Yeah. Sure." I agreed before grabbing her hand and leading her upstairs, trying to keep her from running and rousing suspicion with my mother.

"Dinner in an hour!" my mom yelled from the kitchen.

"Alright!" I called back. As we reached the top of the stairs, I heard Sophie about to break her silence, so I grabbed her and put my hand over her mouth before entering my room and shutting the door.

"You're real!" she exclaimed as I released her. She had the biggest and happiest smile I ever saw on her face as she continued her admiration. "You're real! You're so real! Oh my God… That means everything you've told me," she said turning to me, "about that night was real! It happened! I…wait that means Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Toothfairy…they're all real?!" she asked the last question turning back to Jack and practically exploding from excitement.

He smiled down at her and confirmed, "Yep. Sandmann too. We're all real-"

She interrupted him by running up and squeezing him around the waist as hard as she could, "Oh my God! You have no **idea **how happy that makes me. I'm just…oh my God oh my God oh my God!"

I laughed at how excited she was and was surprised that her grip wasn't hurting Jack at all. He just smiled and bent over to hug her back a little.

"So what are you doing here?! In our house?!" she asked letting Jack go and looking up at him with that smile still plastered on her face.

Jack laughed and replied, "I owe Jamie six years of snowballs and funtimes for what he did to help me. Are you busy tomorrow?" he asked her.

"NO! Oh my God oh my God, this is so cool. YOU'RE so cool," she said turning back to me. "I was starting to think the stories you told me were too good to be true, but I knew it! I knew you wouldn't lie to me!" She ran up to me and threw her vice grip around my waist instead, crushing my ribs a little too close for comfort.

But I smiled through the pain at how happy seeing Jack had made her. She was extremely young when we spent the first night with the Guardians. And the following years that Jack visited us, she was never playing with my friends and me since she was much younger. To her, the Guardians were just a story. But I still wanted her to believe for as long as she could.

"But, I guess I should get going now," Jack said as he reached over to grab his staff. "Your mom is going to want you and I should get back to doing my job," he said his face falling a little at the statement.

I pushed Sophie off of me and walked toward him, "You promise that you'll come back tomorrow?" I asked. I felt childish, but I needed to know that he wasn't about to disappear again.

"Yeah, of course," he answered assuredly. "Like I said, I owe you six years of fun." He paused after probably seeing the doubt on my face. He had made me promises before and broken them. "Here," he said reaching his hand out with his little finger extended, "Pinkie swear."

My face broke into a smile at the gesture. It was just so juvenile. But I complied and held my finger out to him as well so we could lock the promise into place.

He smiled as we let go and added, "Besides, I have to stay near to heal your hand."

"I thought you said the magic just stays there?" I asked confused.

Flustered, he covered his eyes with his hands as if trying to figure out a way to explain it to me again. Finally he said, "Yeah, but it takes more effort when I'm far away."

"I see…" I said still unsure of how his magic worked.

"But I'll be back, alright?" he said looking up at me again. His eyes were sincere, and it made me feel good.

"Alright, see you tomorrow," I said reaching over to open the window for him.

"Bye Jack Frost!" Sophie said waving at him, the smile refusing to leave her face.

Jack smiled and looked at me before confirming, "See you tomorrow." And then he jumped out the window before flying off.

….

"PIPPA!" I yelled knocking furiously on her bedroom window.

The curtains flew open and I saw an extremely annoyed and bedheaded Pippa glaring at me out of her room. She unlocked the window and opened it, shivering as the frosty air floated inside.

"What?!" she yelled back at me clearly frustrated.

"Hurry up! Let's have a snow day!" I said back to her smiling like a ninny. It had snowed last night just as Jack had promised, and I knew he'd be around at some point today.

I saw her annoyance subside only to be replaced with confusion. I knew it was because I hadn't asked her to play in the snow since we were kids.

But after a minute she responded, "Alright. Just let me get dressed and I'll be right out."

My grin grew even bigger as I ran back across the street to get my sister. I knew she wouldn't miss today for the world.

"Hurry up Soph!" I yelled as I opened the front door to see her on the ground pulling her snow boots on.

"Hang on I'm almost done! Where are we going?" she asked standing up and slipping her mittens over her hands.

"To the park," I answered smiling. I haven't been so excited about seeing snow in years. And I wasn't about to waste a minute of it.

We hurried out of the house and I ran back over to Pippa's window, which was still cracked but the curtains were drawn. "Hey Pip, we'll meet you at the park, alright?" I called inside assuming she was getting dressed.

"Alright, see you guys in a few!" she called.

And with that I high-stepped through the snow back to Sophie, before grabbing her hand and bounding behind our houses to the park.

I always thought it was really nice that our houses backed up to the park, which in turn backed up to a stretch of woodlands. The city of Burgess was old, so old that the trees in the forest grew taller and broader than in other cities where they cut everything down. But I loved the forest and I forgot how amazing it looked in winter. The snow beautifully settled upon every branch, twig, and pine needle in a way that made them look as if they had been meticulously painted by a master artist. I smiled to myself as I silently gave Jack the credit. He may not have done it on purpose, but the snow he summoned was always the perfect snow.

As I walked through the winter wonderland hand in hand with Sophie, I kept my attention on the trees. I wasn't really sure why, but I was enthralled with them.

"Come on, Jamie!" Sophie yelled letting go of my hand and taking off towards a thicker mound of snow. She plopped down into it and started making a frantic snow angel.

I laughed at her enthusiasm and slowly bent down to pick up a handful of snow.

"NO James Ryan Bennett. Don't you dare!" she shrieked scrambling to get up. But as she turned away from me I took aim and landed her right in the back.

She screamed in delight and grabbed her own pile, but before she could hit me, I felt a massive snow chunk collide with the back of my head.

"Arrgh!" I yelled trying to brush the snow out as it slid down my neck. I turned around to see Pippa doubled over and laughing her head off. "Oh you're gonna get it," I threatened smiling as I bent back down to grab snow before taking off after her.

Our snowball fight took off. We were all against one another, even though Pippa and I went easy on my sister given that she was half our size. We chased each other around the woods, digging up snow and launching the projectiles at one another until we were panting and red in the face as the day had moved on.

"Okay! Alright," I said breathing heavily as I leaned forward on my knees. "Truce?" I asked as Pippa walked over to me grinning.

"Nah," she said as she shoved a fistful of snow into my face.

I shoved her arm away and she shrieked as I tried to grab her. But she bent over, wrapping her arms around my middle to stop me from grabbing her or pushing her over.

So instead I fell backwards, causing her to cry out as she fell down with me landing on top of me. She laughed as she leaned up on her arms and looked down at me. I saw her eyes shift away from me shyly as she said with a chuckle, "Alright, truce." And then she leaned back to stand up, offering me her hand to help me up as well.

Of course in the moment I thought it was safe, yet another snowball hit me from behind. "Sophie!" I yelled annoyed but turned around to see Jack standing there with his hand on his hip and a hint of mischievousness behind his smirk.

"Oh fine, one more then," I said as I grabbed another handful of snow and chucked it at him.

The ice spirit dodged it easily and added laughing, "I see your throwing skills haven't improved any." Sophie ran up next to me laughing at Jack's diss of me.

"I'll show you throwing skills…"

"Jamie…who are you talking to?" Pippa asked from behind me.

I stopped in what I was doing and turned to look at her.

"Jack Frost!" Sophie yelled excitedly, that contagious smile returning to her face.

"Yeah…don't you remember?" I asked her slowly.

Pippa looked from Sophie to me and then back to Sophie. Finally she hit her palm against her forehead and said, "Oh right. Jack Frost, he brought us the snow, right Sophie?" she asked my little sister.

"Right! Come on Pippa!" Sophie called grabbing Pippa's hand and pulling her over to Jack.

"Sophs…she can't see me," Jack said solemnly.

I looked up into his face and felt my throat tighten up. His mouth was pressed into a hard line and his eyes appeared darker somehow as he looked down at the ground. The air suddenly felt colder. Part of me even thought I felt the air chill right through my winter coat.

Sophie stopped and looked from Pippa to Jack and then back to Pippa. As if not believing him, she asked, "You can see him, right?"

"Yeah, of course," Pippa said smiling down at her and then looking up and saying, "Come on Jack Frost! Bet you can't nip my nose!" Except that she wasn't even looking at the white-haired boy who was standing right in front of her.

Sophie let go of Pippa's hand and looked down into the snow. I could tell that she was trying to stop herself from crying, so I interrupted, "Hey Sophs. I just noticed it's getting kinda late and mom wanted you home. Something about calling grandpa." Yeah it was a lie. But I didn't want to make Sophie sad after she was having such a good day.

I reached out to take her hand and turned to Pippa and said, "Sorry Pippa. Maybe I can head over after my mom gets home?"

"Yeah…alright," she said suddenly unsure of what was wrong. She followed alongside me, but I turned my head to check on Jack.

He was gone.

….

"Why can't she see him anymore?!" Sophie practically yelled at me after she stomped into her bedroom. I was thankful that my mom was at work, or else there would have been more explaining to do.

I looked down at my sister as I tried to find a way to explain something that I myself didn't even understand. "I don't know Sophs… Sometimes it just happens as people grow older."

"Buy why?!" she asked, tears of anger gathered at the corners of her eyes.

"Because…" I scratched my head as I had wondered the same question myself for years. "Because I think that as people grow older… They just forget to remember."

She stood there pouting in silence for a minute. But then she said gruffly, "I won't forget to remember…"

I smiled down at her as I admired her determination. Maybe she would be like me after all… So I wasn't the only one who seemed to believe at my age.

"Come on, I'll read as many bedtime stories with you as you want," I said trying to find a way to make her feel better. I haven't read with her for a while. But I knew it was something she always liked to do with me. It was how I taught her about the Guardians in the first place.

….

But my patience was stretched thin as I waited for Sophie to fall asleep. I really wanted to find Jack.

After I quietly left her room, I tip-toed down the hall to my bedroom determined to go look for him. I would grab my flashlight and check every inch and corner of the park and woods until he showed himself. No way was I going to let him run away on me again.

As I walked into my room, a shadow moved out of the corner of my eye and I nearly toppled backwards into my dresser. I quickly flicked on the light only to see the tufty white-haired boy standing in the corner.

"Geez," I breathed a tense sigh and clutched my chest, "You scared the shit out of me." I saw him wince slightly and quickly remembered his distaste for swear words, so I added, "Sorry… I was just about to go out and look for you."

"Well… I saved you the trouble then," he said smiling a little up at me. Except I could tell it was a bit forced.

So I decided to discuss the elephant in the room. I took several steps toward him and lowered my voice as I said, "How… How come I can still see you, but Pippa can't?"

It bothered me that she had forgotten. She was there. Right there with me. She saw everything and hung out with Jack just as much as I did. How could she have possibly forgotten all of that?

Jack exhaled and looked up into my eyes before quickly averting his gaze. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I…couldn't tell you Jamie. I'm barely used to people being able to see me at all." He then added in a voice barely above a whisper, "This is actually the first time I found someone who's forgotten about me."

"But…what about the other Guardians. Don't they know?" I asked. It was a question that I have been dwelling about for years and couldn't figure out.

But Jack merely shook his head. "All they know is that it just happens to all kids as they grow older. I'm surprised it hasn't happened to you yet."

That statement took me aback. "You…you sound as if you wanted me to forget about you," I asked accusingly.

"No, no, no," Jack said while shaking his head and rubbing his neck, "I just… **expected **it is all. When North said you were wishing for me… I couldn't believe that you even still knew who I was."

Suddenly guilt washed over me as I realized what I did. "I'm sorry…" I muttered looking off to the side.

"For what?"

"For ignoring you yesterday. It must have really scared you," I clarified. Seeing his eyes after realizing that Pippa had forgotten him… His eyes held so much fear in them when he thought I didn't see him. It was immensely selfish of me to treat him like that.

"It did," he said drawing me out of my thoughts. "I honestly was afraid to show myself to you at first… because I don't know how I would have reacted if you had walked through me…"

The guilt caused my throat to constrict again as I looked at him. He was looking past me, avoiding my eyes, but I could tell he was sad. The temperature in my room had noticeably dropped a little after he admitted to that.

So I walked forward and wrapped my arms around his shoulders as I said with as much certainty as I could muster, "I'll **never **forget about you."

I felt him tense up at first, but he reciprocated and wrapped his arms around me as well. It was almost like when I had hugged him before. He was cool to the touch, but not cold. And he even smelled like winter…

After a minute, I felt him pull back and I let go in return. "I uh..." he stammered while rubbing the back of his head, "I'll hold you to that you know."

I couldn't help but smile at him. Maybe it was just because I was older, but he acted different around me. I couldn't really place why, but I liked it.

"Soo…" he exclaimed after the awkward pause stretching his arms behind his back and turning to look back at me with that mischievous twinkle in his eye. "You and Pippa, huh?"

"What?" I asked dumbfounded not sure of where the hell that came from.

He grinned after seeing my discomfort. "You two are cute together," he said absentmindedly scratching his chin, "Shouldn't surprise me though. The whole 'childhood-sweetheart love tale' is one of the oldest out there."

"Jack… Pippa's not my girlfriend," I admitted suddenly feeling more awkward.

After the school had basically labelled me gay, I wasn't really sure if I fully accepted the category. I never felt attracted to guys before I met Alec… and I was definitely still attracted to Pippa. However, apart from kissing, I was inexperienced. So maybe I was bisexual or whatever. Or maybe I just had an infatuation with Alec…maybe he was just my type.

But this wasn't something I was about to explain to the ancient frost boy in front of me.

He was looking at me sideways wearing a giant look of skepticism, so I elaborated in a rush, "We're really good friends and I thought I might like her. But it just didn't really work out. We're good just staying friends."

"Heh, relax Jamie. I'm just messing with you," he said casually leaning against the wall. "But there was something I meant to ask you yesterday."

I cocked my head toward him as I waited for him to ask what he wanted to know. I had no idea what the spirit of winter needed some high school kid to tell him though.

He cleared his throat once before asking, "How…how did you get so many people to believe in me?"

I was a little surprised at the question. I didn't realize I had done anything of the sort. Pretty much everyone at school mocked me for ever having brought up the Guardians. But then I realized that perhaps my stories were successful after all…

I smiled and told him, "I'll tell you if you keep coming back to see me."

At that I saw him crack a grin as he said, "I told you. I owe you six years of fun."

"No," I said reiterating, "I don't mean a once a year thing. Today was amazing…. I want to have more days like that…" I said looking right at him.

Playing defeat, he rolled his eyes and said, "Fine. If you're going to twist my arm like that."

I smiled at him and he looked back up at me not saying a word. I never realized how much satisfaction one could get from being taller than the frost spirit.

He raised an eyebrow and asked, "So?"

"So what?" I asked confused.

"How'd you do it?" he repeated.

I grinned down at him and said, "Maybe I'll tell you next time."

He breathed in a silent laugh shaking his head slightly as he responded, "You really are a brat."

* * *

><p><strong>Beware of impending fluff.<strong>

**But please leave a review if you are reading! **

**More motivation = promptly posted chapters ;D**


	5. Ch 4: Unknown Beginnings

Unknown Beginnings

I couldn't help but be beyond thankful that Jack kept to his promise. I can't deny that I didn't completely trust him. His reputation of being flighty and a prankster, not to mention his disappearing acts, was a bit hard to shake. But he actually visited me several more times over the course of winter break. And…it was nice. I actually felt like I was getting to know him as a person outside of the lore that surrounded him. As it turned out, he seemed more…human than I would have thought. I guess I was used to seeing him as a powerful frost spirit that simply existed to bring snow and make mischief. But his personality and thoughts seemed to run much deeper than that, even though he never really shared them with me.

Sophie was equally happy to see him and was even more excited when he told her that he was going to try talking the Easter Bunny into giving her a special present come spring. But apparently the Easter Bunny and him weren't exactly on good terms…which didn't surprise me any. Jack told me what he did with his eggs several years back.

But I was grateful that Sophie seemed to have accepted and forgiven Pippa for not believing in Jack anymore. My eleven year-old sister was surprisingly mature at times, which was probably why I got along with her so well.

"Jamie?! You ready for school?" I heard my mom yell from the stairway.

I groaned and rolled over trying to remember if my alarm had even gone off yet.

"Jamie?!" she repeated.

"Yeah! Yep. Almost ready!" I called back, pushing the blankets off of me and throwing my legs over the side of my mattress. I shivered as the warmth of my comforter was quickly sucked away by the chill in my room. I had forgotten to shut my window again.

Maybe I was too anxious for him to come back. It probably wasn't healthy for me to sleep in near freezing temperatures… Plus my mom would lecture me about how I'm wasting money by letting the heat out.

I pulled on my jeans and threw on a shirt while wrapping a scarf around my neck. First day at a new school and I wasn't all that thrilled to look my best as I probably should have been. But I also didn't want to look like I was trying too hard.

I stumbled my way to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth before begrudgingly making my way downstairs.

"Jamie? Did you even bother to comb your hair?" my mom asked passively indicating that my hair looked like a cat had slept in it.

"No," I said as I swiped a banana off the counter. Sophie was already downstairs and eating breakfast. Unfortunately, even though her classes started after mine, she had to leave with me to avoid walking to school alone. My mom wasn't comfortable with letting her do that.

"Well, make sure you do that and brush your teeth," she advised as she kissed the top of my head and half-attempted to comb my hair.

"Yup, will do mom," I answered monotonously as I jerked my head away from her fussing fingers.

"Bye Sophs, have a good day," she said as she moved on to Sophie to kiss her.

"Bye mom," she replied tiredly as she kissed my mom's cheek and stood up to walk her empty cereal bowl to the sink.

"Bye, good luck today Jamie," she said smiling over at me as she opened the front door.

I smiled half-heartedly at her as she turned around to leave for work. My mom worked as a nurse at the local hospital and, as such, her schedule was a little unorthodox. She would work midnights a couple times a week, which caused her sleep schedule to be worse than mine. But she somehow always managed to be the most chipper person in the morning...haven't managed to figure out that mystery yet.

"You all set Sophie?" I asked my sister as she walked away into the living room.

"Yup, ready when you are," she said as I saw her collapse on the couch.

I went back upstairs to grab my backpack and paused to comb my hair through. I probably needed a haircut soon, it was starting to hang too much in my eyes. But I figured I looked presentable enough.

As we left the house and started walking to school, my sister managed to break the dreary silence.

"I'm really glad that at least I get to walk with you to school now," she said glancing up at me.

I smiled down at her and said, "Yeah, it's nice. And at least you don't always have to leave when mom leaves now."

She snorted in response. It was hard for her because my mom had to drive her to school before going to work, however early that may have been. I was off the hook, since I would normally catch a ride with Pippa in the morning to go to the private school.

"I still think it was really dumb that your old school kicked you out just for kissing a boy…" she said in a low tone.

I was taken aback for a minute. I wasn't even aware that Sophie knew what happened, let alone had an opinion on it. But I couldn't help but appreciate her support.

"Yeah… But it's probably better off this way anyway," I said smiling down at her a little.

She smiled encouragingly up at me but then something caught her eye up ahead of us, causing me to turn and look in the direction she was.

"Hey look! It's Cupcake and Monty!" she said as two figures emerged in the distance. "Let's catch up to them!" she said suddenly with more energy. She took off at a light run, causing me to pick up my pace as well.

"Hey Monty! Cupcake!" I called as we approached them. I was breathing a little heavier from the run as my body was still having difficulty waking up in the early morning light and winter chill.

"Jamie?" Monty asked turning around with a confused expression on his face. "Do you go to Burgess High now?"

"Yeah," I said stopping behind him. Looking at both of them up close really showed how much time had passed. They only lived a couple blocks away from me, but we still managed to lose touch somehow. Monty had grown taller and seemed to have also evolved his previously geeky style. He actually looked pretty good now and successfully pulled off thick-rimmed glasses. Cupcake was also a surprise. She had grown into her body and was attractively curvy. Her style was still her own, with her crazy-colored tights and military-style dress. But she managed to pull it off.

"Why the switch? I thought the Academy was a really good school?" he asked his eyebrows furrowing.

I shifted my weight awkwardly as I debated whether to tell them the truth or not. But I decided to settle on my rehearsed story. "I just didn't really like it. It wasn't a good fit for me," I said shrugging my shoulders. I noticed Sophie glance up at me before looking back to my friends.

"Oh, well…cool. It'll be good to see you more," Monty said as one side of his mouth drew up into a smile.

I smiled back at him, grateful that they weren't holding a grudge against me for losing touch with them. Granted, we were all somewhat responsible.

"Oh hey," Monty interrupted quickening his pace, "Ashley's probably waiting for us."

"Who's Ashley?" I asked as I walked a little faster to keep up with him.

Cupcake pulled my arm so she could lean in and mutter sarcastically, "Brace yourself. Monty turns into a love-sick puppy around-"

"Shut up!" Monty exclaimed turning his back to look back at us. But when I saw his face, I realized he was blushing and seemed a bit embarrassed.

Cupcake laughed and then turned to my sister, "So Sophie, what did you get for Christmas?"

My sister replied, but I couldn't help but phase out of the conversation for a minute. It was weird hanging out with my old friends again. It was almost as if nothing had changed between us. Life hasn't been one to give me second chances, but hopefully I could take this one and use it to rebuild our old friendships.

"Hey guys, where have you been?" a voice ahead of us called out.

I looked up to see a tall dark-haired guy leaning against an oak alongside the sidewalk. His hair fell past his ears in messy layers that framed an angled face that looked much too awake at this hour of the morning.

"Who are you?" I asked reflexively, but then pursed my lips once I realized I had that thought aloud.

His almond eyes flitted to me and he smiled charmingly before saying with a slight accent, "I thought I should be the one asking you that?"

Monty took it upon him to introduce us, albeit in a somewhat rushed tone, "Oh, Ashley, this is our old friend, Jamie. Jamie, this is Ashley."

"Pleasure," he said extending his hand while maintaining his smile.

"Same," I said while taking his hand to shake. "Your name's Ashley?" I asked abruptly. I seem to have trouble putting a cap on my thoughts in the morning.

He let out a small laugh and explained, "Yeah. My parents are from southern England. And it was also my grandfather's name."

"Oh…" I said feeling embarrassed. I would be the one to just blurt out potentially insulting questions.

"It's alright," he said sensing my discomfort. "I get quite a bit of confusion from people assuming I'm a girl."

"Guys, come on! Walk and talk. We're going to be late if you don't move it!" Cupcake ordered us as she started to resume our trek to school.

As we walked, I quickly realized what Cupcake had meant earlier. Monty was practically swooning over this Ashley guy all the way to school. Which then solved the dilemma my brain was having difficulty calculating. I had originally thought that Monty had a crush on a girl, when instead the crush was this guy. Which meant he was gay? Maybe. I don't even know anymore. I should find a time to talk to him about it…

I was immediately forced out of my thoughts after I got to school. I had never been in it before and felt like a lost freshman again. I couldn't find my classes without help, went the first three periods without books, for which I had to seek out the bookkeeper later, I didn't have any classes with my friends, I could barely remember the people I went to elementary school with, they didn't seem to recognize me either, forgot my lunch…and the list goes on.

So I breathed a sigh of relief when the day finally ended.

"Hey Jamie!" I heard someone call a short distance from me. I shut my locker and looked over to see Monty and Ashley walking toward me.

"Hey, guys," I said smiling since I was relieved to see familiar faces. "Where's Cupcake?"

"She has pottery club after school. But did you want to walk home with us?" Monty asked.

I hesitated for a minute, since I kind of felt like the awkward third-wheel around them without Cupcake. Even though, so far as I could tell, they weren't actually going out.

"No, go ahead without me. I'm going to wait for my sister to get out of school," I lied smoothly. Sophie had dance practice and my mom was going to pick her up tonight after work.

"Alright, see you tomorrow morning then," Monty said.

"Nice meeting you, again," Ashley said before he turned to follow Monty.

I waited a few minutes to make sure they were gone before deciding to head out. Except I took a roundabout route and walked towards the forest that lied alongside the neighborhoods, including mine.

It's not that I didn't want to walk with them. I just liked being by myself sometimes. And, honestly, Monty constantly laughing at everything Ashley said would get annoying right quick. Although, Ashley did seem like a cool guy. I learned his father's family was British, whereas his mother's family was Korean and Japanese. He apparently moved to the States when he was five and to Burgess only last year. And…I dunno. Maybe I could become friends with him.

I kicked a rock as I walked down the forest trail. The snow was still fairly fresh, as not many people seemed to walk this deep into the woods. But I brought my boots, so it didn't really matter to me.

However, I still felt like a child in that my friend-group was being invaded by other people. It shouldn't bother me. After all, I lost touch with them. But still…I couldn't help but feel left out.

I looked up as I neared my destination and found what I was looking for.

"I was hoping I'd find you here," I said as I walked towards the large boulder where Jack was perched upon.

He turned his head to look at me as I approached and smiled, "Hey kiddo. How was your first day at the new school?"

"Fine, I guess. Tomorrow will be easier," I said as I climbed up on the boulder to sprawl out next to him. The rock overlooked a fairly large pond, which had since frozen over in the cold, January weather.

"Did you at least make up with Monty and Cupcake?" he asked as he relaxed his legs to let them hang over the side of the rock, his staff resting alongside him.

"Yeah. It was almost like old times," I replied honestly. "Except they seem to have found a new friend."

"Well, that's good," he said encouragingly. But after seeing the look on my face, he grew concerned and asked, "Do you not like their friend?"

"No, it's not that," I started unsure of how to phrase my feelings. "He's a cool guy… But I think Monty has a giant crush on him, so it's hard to even talk to him when that guy's around."

"I wouldn't worry about it," he said as one side of his mouth curved up as he looked at me, "If your friends like him, then you can probably make friends with him too."

"Yeah…" I said, not sure if Jack really understood what I was saying.

We sat there in silence for a while. We seemed to have grown comfortable enough together where silence wasn't awkward. Or…maybe since he was a million years old, he just didn't really notice time as much. Either way, I was fine just being with him.

"So how come you like this place so much?" I asked turning my head away from the frost covered scene in front of me to look at the white-haired boy. This wasn't the first time I had found him here. In fact, I learned that he would often lounge about here when he wasn't working.

He didn't answer for a minute, instead he just stared directly ahead as if lost in thought. Finally he said in a distant voice, "I just like coming back here. It's the place where I had my first memories as Jack Frost."

It took a minute for me to process what he said. "Woah, woah," I suddenly exclaimed while turning my body to face him, which caused him to look over at me in surprise. "What do you mean 'your first memories as Jack Frost'? What were you before?" I felt as though I had understood him somewhat, but perhaps I had everything wrong.

He smiled warmly at me, which made my heart stop for a second, but I was pulled back to attention when he started to talk again. "I used to live here once," he said as he turned his head to gaze back out at the pond. "I had a family. And, like you, a little sister…It was nice." He smiled reminiscing over his memories and his eyes seemed to detach themselves from reality as he did so.

Whereas my mind was spinning at a thousand miles a second. My face held a look of pure shock as I put the pieces together. "You… you were human?" I asked slowly.

"Yeah," he answered simply.

"Well…how did you… How did you become Jack Frost?" I asked.

He took a deep breath as if preparing for a long story, but when he exhaled, it seemed as though his mood had fallen a little as well. I definitely felt the chill in the air more.

"I came out here with my sister to ice skate one day. But…she traveled too far inwards… and the ice was too thin… so it started to crack."

I realized I was holding my breath; however, I didn't want to do or say anything to distract him or make him want to stop talking. This was something I could never have imagined about him… He used to be human…

"She was scared… But I convinced her to play hopscotch with me. I was able to pull her to safety, but…I was too heavy and fell through…" He paused for a moment, but then quickly jerked out of his thoughts. "But!" he said brightening up all of a sudden, "The Man in the Moon saved me by turning me into Jack Frost!"

"But Jack… How old **are** you?" I asked in a low tone.

"Mm…" he leaned back on one arm and put a finger to his lips in thought. "Three-hundred years give or take. I'm actually the youngest of the Guardians."

He talked about all of this as if recounting a distant tale. But it was his life… And the story of how he practically died. And then… living for centuries with hardly a soul to talk to… I had always seen him as an ancient spirit who simply existed and did what he wanted. But knowing he used to be human…with a family he loved… and then to have it all ripped away and go through eternity alone…

It made me think back to the first time I saw him. Suddenly the look on his face when he realized I believed in him pierced right through me. It was the happiest I had ever seen a person. The inexplicable joy, relief, and wonder that was in his eyes… I didn't realize until now that it was the look of a human, who was ignored his whole life, and was suddenly overwhelmed that someone could know him again. That he wasn't imaginary.

"Jamie?" I heard him ask, concern threading through his voice.

It was then that I realized tears were falling down my cheeks. I sniffed once and then quickly turned to lean into him and wrap my arms around him in a hug.

"Hey, sorry kiddo," he said patting my back as I sniffed again, "I didn't tell you that to make you cry…"

"How?" I interrupted him as I squeezed my eyes shut to try and pull myself together.

"How what?" he asked confused, albeit he continued to rub my back.

I leaned back while keeping my hands on his shoulders so I could look him in the eye. "How do you manage to stay so happy all the time?"

His eyebrows came together as if unsure of how to answer me. He opened his mouth in preparation to answer, but closed it again as he changed his mind.

I felt another wave of tears build up as I was starting to think that he wasn't actually as happy as he appeared. But eventually, I felt his body relax and he reached up to grab onto my wrists before pulling them down and holding them in between us. He inhaled slightly and said simply, "Because it's easier, I guess?"

"That doesn't make any sense Jack!" I exclaimed as I heard myself practically grow frantic. How can one just will himself to be happy? If it were that easy, then I wouldn't have had to wallow for two years in my own fucking self-pity after my entire school basically rejected me.

I retracted when I saw him shrink away from me. His hands grew colder against my wrists and I immediately wanted to take back my outburst. "I'm- I'm sorry," I said forcing my voice to calm down.

"It's ok," he said looking at the ground. He let go of my wrists and folded his hands in his pocket. "I wasn't always happy," he said in a much more solemn voice and I felt the chill grow around me once again. "At first I was angry…and sad. I couldn't control my magic…so I ended up hurting a lot of people…" He glanced up at me once before averting his eyes again. He seemed…repentant. "So as I gained control over myself, I learned that instead of resenting everyone for ignoring me, it would be more fun to play tricks and games with them instead." He looked back up into my eyes and shrugged his shoulders as he added, "And to me, that was better. I could at least have my fun."

He smiled a little, which caused me to smile back in spite of pain I felt for him, despite it not even being my pain. It explained why I always felt the temperature change around us when his mood altered. But to know that he had to force himself to stay happy in order not to hurt others… How terrible that would be…

It hurt me to think of him as unhappy. I wanted him to be happy. I wanted his eyes to look like they did when they first saw me…

I quickly stood up and held out my hand as I said, "Come on. I have something to show you."

"What?" he asked surprised by my sudden change in demeanor.

"Just…come with me," I urged grabbing his arm to pull him along.

…

I unlocked my bedroom window in order to let him into my room. My mom would be back with Sophie pretty soon, so I knew I didn't have a lot of time alone with him.

"What'd you want to show me?" he asked, perching himself lightly on my desk and leaning into his staff.

I pressed the button on my computer and heard it hum as it started to come back to life. As I waited for it, I turned to look up at him. "Remember when you asked how I got so many people to believe in you?" I asked.

"Yeah…?" he said as his brow furrowed.

"Well, this is it," I said gesturing over to my computer.

The screen flickered on and I sat down in order to further explain to him. He hopped off my desk and I heard him stand behind me as he waited tensely. I wasn't exactly sure how I knew he was tense, but I was starting to get a sense for what he was feeling.

"I don't really understand, Jamie," he said hesitantly. I knew he generally understood what computers and various gadgets were, but since he had no use for them, he wasn't fully aware with how they were used in modern society.

I pulled up a website that prominently displayed a chunk of text along with the title, "Rise of the Guardians" by J. Light.

"What is it?" he asked as he leaned over my shoulder to look at it.

I suddenly became more aware of his hand on my shoulder and the feeling of him leaning over my back. But I shook the anxiety away and explained, "It's the story I wrote… A few years after I met all of you. It explains all the adventures I went on with you… Some of your backstory I made up since I didn't know too much, but it got a lot of hits. A lot of people read it across the globe. Some even emailed me saying they thought it was so good that they read it to their kids…"

I angled my head to glance at his expression. His eyes were wide and glassy as he stared at the screen, his lips parted in surprise as he tried to comprehend everything I was telling him.

But then I realized that our faces were mere millimeters apart and I reflexively drew away from him. I cleared my throat and stood up to be level with him. "So…what do you think?" I asked uncertainly.

After I said that, he seemed to have snapped out of his stupor. "So you're saying…that you wrote that story about me…and that caused more people to believe in me?"

I shrugged my shoulders simply and said, "Yeah…I think so. It's the only thing I can think of anyway."

He looked back over to the computer screen. At that moment I saw his shock melt away and his mouth grow into a broad smile. He turned to look up at me and I saw the joy and wonder in his eyes that I had hoped for. I almost felt my own eyes water after seeing him so happy again.

"Jamie…you're amazing!" he exclaimed. He slapped a hand to his forehead and hopped a step back while shaking his head in disbelief. I smiled at his amazement. To me I had just written a story, but to him…I had made it so he might never be alone again…

I rubbed the back of my neck feeling a little sheepish. At the time, I didn't even realize that I was doing anything. His reaction was more than I could have possibly hoped for.

Suddenly he flew into me while throwing his arms around my middle and squeezing the life out of me. After the initial shock, I smiled and wrapped my arms around his lower back, holding him against me.

I was so distracted by him that I didn't even realize it was snowing in my room.

"Jack!" I complained, letting him go and moving to open the window in attempts to whoosh the snow outside and off of my stuff.

"I'm sorry," he chuckled as he struggled to keep the beaming smile of his face. "It's just…I don't even know how I can make this up to you!"

"Heh…you don't have to make it up to me," I said as I opened the window and threw on my coat again.

"There's got to be something?" he asked expectantly turning his eyes to look up at me as he drew closer to me again.

I felt my heart practically beat out of my chest. Those eyes...and his smile. He was too damn cute…

"Just…" I started to say but paused after mentally slapping myself for wondering how his skin would taste. "Just promise to come back?" I finished as my face grew more serious.

"I'll come back every day if you want me to!" he pronounced excitedly, practically bouncing with enthusiasm.

I laughed a little and said, "You can come back as often as you want to."

He covered his mouth with his hand and looked off to the side in thought. Then he turned back and said assuredly, "Just keep your window unlocked."

* * *

><p><strong>If you're reading and enjoying this, please follow or leave a review! :)<strong>

**More reviews = more promptly posted chapters**

**And seriously, I might start the next chapter tomorrow if ya'll are liking it that much :D**

**For example...who will kiss whom first?... *over-exaggerated wink* **


	6. Ch 5: Frozen Sunsets

**...**

**I am SO sorry for the wait!**

**I know I promised to post promptly, but I experienced bad writer's block about half-way through and didn't know what to do.**

**So...good things come to those who wait I guess?**

**I hope you still enjoy it!**

* * *

><p><span>Frozen Sunsets<span>

I walked into my room and, to my surprise, my face met a giant snowball almost instantly.

"Jack!" I yelled at him after wiping my face clear of cold ice. I looked over to see him doubled over in the corner laughing. "It's not funny. I've really got to study for my exams," I complained as I dropped my backpack and sat down at my computer.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I won't distract you anymore," he chuckled leaping and settling down with a soft plop on my bed. "What's that?" he asked after my computer booted back up.

I looked over to my screen to see a picture of Alec and me. I must have left it open…

"Nothing," I said trying to minimize it. But he was too quick for me. In a second, Jack was by my side to get a closer look at the photo.

"Woah," he said in astonishment, "Who is that?"

"It..It's just my friend Alec," I stammered, "From my old school."

"Alec? The one you had a crush on?" he asked turning his head to look at me.

Shit…I must have forgotten that I told him about that. "Yeah-" I said as my voice caught in my throat.

"That's just weird though," he said turning to look at the picture again. "He looks kind of like me."

"Th- That is really w-weird," my voice box croaked out as I stood up and took a step away from Jack. I really needed to calm down. It was just coincidence…

Jack straightened up and turned to face me, his face carrying that accomplished smirk.

"What?" I asked, my voice betraying my nervousness.

He took a couple steps closer as he said in a low voice, "I was wondering why you've been acting so weird around me…"

I stepped back trying to hold the distance between us. "What are you talking about? I'm not acting weir-" I yelped slightly after my back ran into my bookshelf, toppling several items onto the floor.

"Yeah?" he asked stopping right in front of me, tilting his head up so his crystal blue eyes could meet mine. "Prove it."

And with that he smoothly closed the distance in between us, capturing my lips with his.

I tensed up for a second, but instantly released a sigh and felt my body relax. He reached up his hands to hold onto my neck as he stood on his toes so he more passionately push himself into me. After a moment he pulled back, his smirk having relaxed a little bit.

"Come on Jamie. I've been around for three hundred years…I can read people pretty well by now," he said in a low voice.

And with that he reached down to grip the hem of his hoodie and briskly pulled it over his head.

I felt a blush plume across my face as I exclaimed, "Jack! What are you-?"

But he reached out to grab my hand and confidently placed it on his hip as he pressed his now bare chest against mine. He looked up at me, his eyes half-closed, before pushing himself up to meet my lips again.

I didn't even remember removing his or my clothes. Next thing I knew I had him pressed into the mattress while I was pulsing into him.

"Jamie!" I heard him call my name…I wanted him to scream my name in ecstasy. I quickened my thrusts as I felt sweat completely coat my body.

"Jamie!" he called again. I couldn't…stop.

…

"Jamie!" I called his name yet again as I sat crouched on his bedpost with my staff across my lap.

Finally, he stopped thrashing around in his sleep. I saw him blink lazily as he gradually came out of his slumber.

However, the moment he saw me he shouted in surprise and practically jumped a foot in the air, causing him to topple off his bed pulling the sheets along with him.

I hopped off the bedpost and walked around the bed to make sure he didn't give himself a concussion after hearing him crash onto the floor.

"Are you alright?" I asked him, "Were you having a nightmare?"

"No." he responded gruffly as he struggled to untangle himself from his bedsheets, "I wasn't having a **nightmare**."

My eyebrows furrowed as he awkwardly stood up, wrapping the sheet around him as he did so. "I…just….," he stammered as if all of a sudden unsure what words were. "I gotta piss," he finally admitted disgruntled as he walked past me and out of his bedroom.

_Hm…I forgot how moody teenagers got when you wake them up this early in the morning. _

…

_Holy fucking…urrggghh. I'm so perverted! What the hell is wrong with me?! _

I groaned again and leaned over the sink to splash cold water on my face. _Oh my God I'm a terrible person, _I thought as I stared up at myself in the mirror._ It's true though… in a lot of ways... Alec did remind me of Jack. Mostly just in how he looked, but still… I don't know. _I sighed and hung my head to try and steady my thoughts. _Maybe I've always had weird feelings for Jack…When I was a kid, I just wanted to see him. Because I always had fun with him…I looked up to him._

_But now… It's different. I can't get him out of my mind, even when he's not around. I find myself worrying how he is…And now he's invaded my dreams… Gah. This is too far gone._

I stared myself straight in the eye and silently confessed what I had been preoccupied with for the past couple weeks,_ I just have to admit that I maybe…ever so slightly…might be in love with Jack Frost… … … … … … …urghh. _I dropped my head again and gripped the sides of the sink. _There has to be something terribly wrong with me, _I thought.

I shook my head trying to shake those thoughts away, _But right now I have to get a hold of myself. Jack's a several hundred year-old spirit and my subconscious passion plays about him are just completely unrealistic. He wouldn't even think about that kind of stuff…would he? _

_Gahh…shut up shut up shut up, _I chastised my silent thoughts and splashed more water onto my face. The cold water wasn't helping any and I needed to actually wash myself off after that whole fiasco.

…

I hopped up so I could sit cross-legged on his desk, laying my staff across my lap and leaning my elbows on my knees. Hopefully he wouldn't stay sore with me…

I impatiently drummed my fingers against my cheek. _Urgh…geez. How long does he need anyway? I feel like I've been sitting here for ten minutes already… Maybe I should freeze his cellphone or something, _I thought as I scanned around the room.

Then I heard the door creak and I came back to attention as he walked in. His hair was wet, so it looked like he had just taken a shower. Explains why he was gone for so long.

But I figured he should be the first one to speak. He was usually pretty quiet when he first woke up and it seemed that I had gotten on his nerves.

But he didn't acknowledge me. Instead he walked to the other side of the room to rummage through his dresser. He pulled out a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt before getting dressed. I averted my attention by creating an origami snowbird in my hand to give him a sense of privacy.

He walked back to hang his damp towel on his door before finally walking over to me. I tried to at least impress him by making the snowbird flutter up and down, but he didn't pay me any mind. I felt my spirits sink a little, _I wish he wouldn't resort to ignoring me whenever he was a little less than happy. I didn't even do anything this time_…

Noticeably disgruntled, he picked up his backpack and reached around me to grab books and papers off his desk before shoving them haphazardly inside.

"What are you doing?" I asked him curiously while impatiently bouncing my knee.

"Getting ready for school," he answered plainly.

_Well, at least he's not completely ignoring me…_

"Why? You don't have any school today," I answered smirking at him.

He froze in the middle of what he was doing and glanced at me suspiciously. Still doubting me, he walked to the side of his desk in order to look out his bedroom window.

Finally! I saw a smile break out across his face before he asked for official confirmation, "You gave me a snow day?"

"Of course kiddo. You shouldn't have to take a boring test on your birthday," I assured him. _Besides, I never joke around about snow days. Kid should know better by now. _

Jamie let out a laugh and instantly changed his tune. He abandoned his backpack by his desk, and dropped down to the floor to rummage under his bed. Pulling out his boots, he quickly shoved them on before grabbing his coat, scarf, and hat from out of the closet.

"Well, come on then, let's go," he said chuckling as he turned to leave his room.

I smiled and got up to exit out his window, being careful to close it after I left. I knew how mad his mom got the first few times I left it open.

A moment later, Jamie came out his front door, being careful to quietly close it as he did so.

I floated down until I gently settled on the bush next to him. "Why are you sneaking out?" I asked.

Although, my sudden appearance startled him and he jumped away from me in surprise. After catching his breath he said curtly, "I'm not sneaking. I just didn't want to wake anyone up."

I raised an eyebrow at him not really believing he was telling me the whole truth. He noticed my expression, but chose to turn and walk away from his house. I glided up beside him and asked, "So what did you want to do today?"

"I…" he started to say but then looked down at the sidewalk as he thought for a moment. Then he said, "I was thinking we could-"

"Hey Jamie!" a voice called a little ways down the street.

Jamie looked up and I followed his gaze to see three people who seemed to be waiting for him. He glanced over at me as if seeking my permission, to which I nodded my head in their direction before jumping up to be caught by the wind. I flew ahead until I landed in an oak tree right alongside them. The three people were obviously Monty, Cupcake, and what I could only guess to be Ashley. I haven't ever seen him before, but that must have been the guy Jamie had told me about. Not surprisingly, none of them took notice of me.

I settled down on a larger branch and leaned my back against the rough trunk as I waited for Jamie to make his way over.

After a minute, Jamie caught up to them and asked, "What's going on guys?"

Monty looked at him confused and asked, "You didn't get my message?"

"I- uh…no I guess I didn't," Jamie confessed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh, we were just going out to breakfast at Doc's and I asked if you wanted to come," he said.

"Ah…sure. That sounds good," he agreed with a half-hearted smile.

"Alright, cool. Let's go," Monty said as they all turned around to continue heading in the direction of town.

Jamie stayed put and looked up at me and I could tell that he was worried about me. But I, for one, wasn't a fan of sitting around indoors. Or eating. _Geez teenagers are boring, _I thought. _But…he should spend his birthday with his friends. I did my part already._

"Go ahead," I told him in an attempt to reassure him, "I'll just go fly around Canada for a bit and be back later this afternoon."

He bit his lip and I knew he wanted to say something to me, but didn't want to appear as though he was conversing with an oak.

"Seriously, go. I'm behind on my work anyway," I said all too honestly. Spending so much time with Jamie was causing me to blow off some of my duties. _Which…I wouldn't be surprised if North "contacted" me sometime soon about it, _I thought remembering all too well his methods of getting me to listen to him. _Just because his holiday is in Winter doesn't give him the authority to boss me around…It's not like he's that much older than me._

"Jamie…what's up?" Cupcake asked from up ahead. He had been standing there staring at me for too long.

"Nothing," he said snapping back to reality and turning to catch up to them. But I noticed him slyly wave goodbye to me as he walked away from me.

_Well, now's a good as time as any to work double time, _I sighed.

Standing up on the branch and gripping my staff, I summoned the wind and leaped into it to be blown northerly.

…

It's…it's not like I didn't like hanging out with my friends. I just couldn't shake the guilt of ditching Jack when he had remembered to give me a snow day on my birthday. And then not even being outside to enjoy it. I felt like a jerk.

"It's your birthday?" Ashley asked when it came up. "Well let me pay for your breakfast then," he offered generously.

"No…no. That's really nice of you, but you don't have to," I said trying to humbly turn him down.

"Well we've got to do something to celebrate," he added still trying to push his generosity on me, "It's not too often that we get a snow day on our last day of exams, and then on a friend's birthday to boot."

"It's-" I started to say but was interrupted again.

"Why don't we just go over to my place?" Ashley suggested. "We can ask if anyone else wants to join and…I dunno…just have a good time?"

"Yeah, sounds good to me," Monty chipped in while smiling over at Ashley.

Cupcake glanced at me noticing my hesitation and added, "Come on, Jamie. It'll be fun. I can bake a cake and, besides, it'll give you the chance to get to know more people around here."

"Yeah," Monty added chuckling a little. "I tell people that you're back and no one even recognizes you since you look a lot different."

"Seriously?" I asked him skeptically. I mean, yeah, I definitely grew a lot and…lost all my baby teeth I guess. But I figured some people would at least remember my face.

"Mhm," he said taking a sip of soda. "I mean, everyone's always obsessed with their group of friends. But I think I know a few girls who would want to come over if we told them it was for you," he added smirking up at me a little.

"Who?" I asked curiously.

"Hey, hey, Monty," Ashley interrupted. "How many people were you looking to invite? I don't think my parents would be ok with a big party."

Monty shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I guess just a couple. Who they are depends on what Jamie wants to do."

_Great, now this is becoming all my responsibility. _"Just…invite whoever. I don't really want a party either," I admitted honestly. "I'd be happy just hanging out with you guys."

I saw one side of Ashley's mouth curve up at me. Then he leaned back in his seat and added, "Yeah…we don't have to make it a big thing. I just meant that we could at least do something fun on your birthday."

"Why don't we…just hang out at the park?" I asked expectantly. "There's that big hill there and we could go sledding or something. After all, it is a snow day…" I added hopefully.

A bit of light entered Cupcake's eyes. "Yeah, duh! We haven't done that in so long," she exclaimed before nudging me in the ribs. "See? This was why we missed you," she added warmly.

I laughed and rubbed my side a little from where she nudged me.

"Well? Let's get going then," Monty exclaimed as well before standing up.

…

I couldn't really explain to Jamie why I liked this pond so much. What I told him was true, but I couldn't really explain out of all the places I've ever been, why this rock by this small body of water made me feel so…safe.

I shouldn't feel safe here. In fact, since I had my memories restored, I should feel traumatized by this place. So much pain happened here…

Mm…I shook my head and lay down on the cold surface of the boulder. Looking up into the gray sky, I tried to distract myself.

_It's getting late though…I hope Jamie comes, _I thought as I watched the wind gently push the branches of the trees. _However, I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to stay with his friends. They're part of his reality after all. _

I felt the temperature drop a little and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to refocus onto something more positive. But it wasn't working. With every sound I heard, I would look up to see if it was him walking toward me. But it was just the wind or a rabbit.

Urgh…I sighed and sat up before leaning on my staff to stand up. Hopping off the boulder, I walked into the middle of the pond, blowing away the snow as I did so, before settling down cross-legged in the middle.

Laying my staff across my lap with my hands on my knees, I took a deep breath and tried to empty my mind of all thoughts. I had learned how to this a long time ago, and I found it easier to relax.

"Jack?"

The sound of my name woke me lazily out of my trance and I opened my eyes to see that several hours must have passed. The sun had fallen, casting orange and pink shadows on the clouds and snow. Across the pond, I saw Jamie standing on the edge of it.

Suddenly filled with energy, I smiled and stood up before gliding over to him.

"Hey kiddo! How was your birthday?" I asked expectantly. I hoped he at least had fun.

He smiled down at me and said, "It was good. But uh…" he looked over my shoulder as he asked, "Did you do this?"

I raised an eyebrow and turned around to see that I had unintentionally transformed the small clearing into an immortal land of ice. Swirling ferns of ice grew out from where I had been sitting on the frozen pond, which glowed orange in the light of the falling sun. Further out, my ice reached the surrounding trees, which were dripping with tiny icicles and every surface was glazed with snow. The pine trees casting a protective white canopy over everything.

I smiled, proud of my work. Often times when I meditated, I would cause anomalies like this.

"Yeah, I just…it sometimes happens," I replied while scratching my temple.

"It's…amazing," he breathed as he gazed out at the landscape.

After a minute, I shifted my weight between my feet as I started to feel awkward that someone was so taken away by my accidental creation of ice and snow.

"So…what did you do today?" I asked him trying to change the subject.

He snapped back to attention and looked down at me as he said proudly, "After breakfast, I convinced everyone to go sledding. But Ashley actually owned a couple snowboards, so he taught me a few things."

_Oh thank the moon he didn't sit inside all day… _"That's great!" I said smiling broadly at him.

"Yeah," he sighed, "I'm beat." And with that he walked up to the boulder and started to climb up it. However, about halfway up he struggled to hold onto it because it was slick with ice.

"Here, let me help," I said as I jumped up onto the rock. Setting my staff down, I reached down to grab his hands and pull him up.

But the minute he let go of the rock, his weight proved too much for me to handle. Feeling us both fall, I panicked and summoned the wind the push us back up. However, Jamie continued to fall, whereas I briskly blew across the clearing and directly into a mound of snow.

The next thing I heard was the muffled sound of Jamie laughing. Digging myself out of the snow pile, I stood up to see him across the pond and doubled over as he struggled to breathe.

Skating back over to him while brushing snow off myself I grumbled, "It wasn't that funny…"

In between laughs Jamie gasped, "I'm sorry….but it was…You're just so weak." And he continued to snicker at me.

"No I'm not!" I replied hotly. "It's not my fault you weigh like a gazillion pounds!" I said gesturing to his figure. I wouldn't admit it to him, but he was right. I rely on my magic so much that I forget how little I actually weigh compared to someone like him.

Covering his mouth and settling for the ground, he sat down into the snow and buried his face into his knees to try and compose himself. "I'm sorry," he admitted again as he calmed down, "Can we start over?" he asked turning his head up to smile at me.

I couldn't help but pout as I glared at him while fighting against my pride. Eventually I gave in. "Fine," I sighed, "but only because it's your birthday." I walked next to him and plopped down in the freshly fallen cushion of snow.

"I am really sorry that I left you alone this morning," he said growing serious as he turned his head to look at me.

_He…he actually felt guilty about choosing his friends over me? _

"Don't feel bad, Jamie," I told him assuredly. "I gave you a snow day so you wouldn't have to go to school on your birthday. What you wanted to do was your choice."

I didn't want him to think that he had to worry so much about me. I've been around a long time, I could handle myself. _Besides, _I thought, _the fact he lets me be around him so often is better than how everything was before anyway. I like whatever time we get to spend together._

"But…I wanted to spend the day with you," he admitted hesitantly.

I turned to look at him. "You did?" I asked surprised. I had no idea why, but this sixteen year old kid made me feel…warm? _No…_I thought to myself, _that's impossible anyways. I guess I'm just not used to someone actually thinking about me._

"Yeah," he breathed averting his eyes from mine. "I honestly couldn't stop thinking about you all day," he admitted glancing up at me briefly before returning his gaze to the frozen pond.

I watched him for a moment, not sure how I should react. But I couldn't help but smile at his thoughtfulness and turned to gaze out at the pond in silence with him.

"Jack…I really like you," he said suddenly while keeping his eyes on the pond.

I looked at him again not sure of what to say. Finally I said, "I like you too…After all you're my favorite kid." I smiled at my own admission.

All of a sudden he turned and reached to hold onto the back of my neck before leaning in to press his lips into mine.

He broke the kiss after a second and slowly looked up at me, which made me realize I was staring at him wide-eyed and probably in shock.

And then the stammering started. "I- I- Jamie… I meant… You-" but I didn't get to formulate a full thought before seeing his eyebrows come together as he quickly stood up and walked away.

"Jamie!" I called turning to see him march up the path in the direction of the setting sun. "Jamie, wait!"

I hastily grabbed my staff and glided to catch up with him. But he continued storming off with a dead set expression on his face as he didn't even look at me. "Jamie! Come on!" I yelled at him in frustration after realizing he was choosing to ignore me again. "I didn't mean…"

He quickened his pace to put distance between us as he continued to trudge up the forest path. Biting my tongue, I went to my last resort. I summoned a magical ball of snow in my hand before reeling back and chucking it at him. _I'll show you the spirit of fun…_

But he swiftly dodged and my magic snowball flew on by. _Urgh…seriously? Enough was enough._

I summoned the wind and flew over him before promptly landing in front of him. Not giving him the chance to nudge me aside, I grabbed his face and pushed myself up to shove my lips against his.

Releasing him, I pulled back a little and let loose on him. "Would you STOP ignoring me already?! I don't know WHAT I should feel about you, alright?! All I know is it feels weird whenever I'm with you and it feels terrible whenever I'm not! And- …"

I trailed off after realizing that he was sporting a confident smirk on his face as he watched my furious rant. _Wait just a minute…_

"You did that on purpose didn't you?!" I yelled at him again. "You weren't actually mad at me!"

He chuckled lightly and said, "No…But you are really stubborn. It was the only way I could think of to make you say what you actually were thinking."

_WHAT?!_

"You TRICKED me!" I shouted in realization, but that only made his smile grow bigger.

"Come here you," he said as he grabbed me around the middle to hug me.

"You BRAT! Let me go!" I complained as I struggled to push and wriggle myself free of his grip.

He only laughed and held on tighter, "Not gonna happen." _Great, now he knows he's physically stronger than me. _

I stopped trying to squirm away and relaxed against him. He loosened his hold and pulled back still grinning at me. But I pursed my lips and refused to look him in the eye.

However he drew me out of my pout after I felt him lightly kiss my forehead.

"Thanks for giving me a good birthday," he said warmly.

After looking up in his eyes, I realized how sincere he was being.

"You're welcome," I muttered quietly.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" he asked expectantly.

"… Yes."

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><p><strong>Fluffy enough?<strong>

**There will be more to come...**

**I will try and post at least once a week, maybe more if I'm heavily motivated ;D**

**More reviews = more promptly posted chapters**


	7. Ch 6: He's My Guardian

**...**

**Ok, I changed the timeline around a little in order to make something work.**

**Which means I took a little bit longer to write this.**

**But to clarify, Jamie just turned 17.**

**I also changed the wrestling scene in Chapter 1, because it didn't fit well to me.**

**A scene that shows better in film than in writing I guess.**

**But still, here's a new one!**

**Hope you like it ^-^**

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><p><span>He's My Guardian<span>

I found myself doing it again.

I lay there in bed spacing out into the patterns the shadows on my ceiling created. It was late and another day had gone by where I haven't seen him. My mind was wracked with guilt and fear that I had pushed him away again. It had been several months since I had kissed him, and he hasn't brought what happened up once. And at first, I thought I was just imagining it, but his visits haven't been as frequent. After the first few weeks, I realized it was because he had stopped coming to my window. The only times I ever saw him were outside or in the woods. I felt as though he was avoiding me…

I sighed and folded my hands underneath my head. _He has to be avoiding me, _I thought, _there's no other explanation for it. I fucked everything up- _

A soft knock on my bedroom door pulled me out of my thoughts. A second later, my mom gently pushed open the door and stepped into my room.

"Hi baby," she said gently after recognizing my melancholy, "I don't mean to butt in, but there is something I've been needing to talk to you about."

"What?" I said dully, my lack of interest weighing heavy on my tone. I really wasn't in the mood to talk to my mom right then, but I knew it would be rude to tell her to leave.

"It's about Sophie…" she started to say but paused after hearing me exhale and seeing me purse my lips. "Look, Jamie. Dr. Thatcher is concerned. She told me that last session, Sophie admitted that you were encouraging her dependence on her _friends_," she said emphasizing the last word.

I snorted cynically at her use of that word. I knew by _friends _she meant the Guardians. Ever since Sophie had seen Jack, her belief in the Guardians was as strong as ever despite her turning thirteen. Her insistence and anecdotes first drew the attention of her classmates, who started making fun of her during school. Sophie's rational response was to then beat the weasels up.

So that eventually drew the attention of her teachers and school psychologist, who suggested to my mother that she seek therapy for Sophie. I'm fairly certain that she's on the watch list for schizophrenia now.

"Why is everyone making such a big deal out of this?" I sharply argued as I pushed myself up into a seated position on my bed. "It's not like she's hurting anyone."

"She is, Jamie. She's getting into fights because of it-"

"That's because of the other kids! They're making fun of her! To me that sounds like **they're** the ones in the wrong here, not Sophie," I insisted growing more heated.

"Jamie…" my mom started to say but paused and clenched her jaw as she considered how to frame her thoughts. "Jamie," she repeated as she sat down on the edge of my bed, "It's one thing for kids to have imaginary friends. It's another when they put the imaginary friends before their real friends. This is affecting her grades, her friendships, and I'm sure you've noticed that she's not as happy as before."

That caused me pause. I broke eye contact with my mother and stared at something behind her. It was true that everything she said has been stressing Sophie out a lot. But Sophie always needing to be right about everything definitely wasn't helping her case at all.

My mother started to talk again, "I'm just asking you not to encourage her if she talks to you about them, alright? Just…gently remind her that she should be focusing on her friends. On people everyone can see…alright?"

After rubbing my lips together and inhaling deeply, I gave in. "Alright," I said in a low tone.

"Thank you, Jamie," my mother said as she stood up. "Now you should probably get ready for bed," she added.

"Yeah…I know," I responded quietly. Normally I would be annoyed when she reminded me to do things I was already about to do. But our previous conversation had suddenly left me feeling…empty.

"Alright, good-night," she said before leaning down to kiss the top of my head.

"Night, mom," I replied.

She smiled down at me and lovingly caressed the back of my head before turning to leave my room.

But I begrudgingly chose not to get ready for bed yet. Instead, I slunk back down to lie flat and continued staring up at my ceiling.

I did need to talk to Sophie, but maybe not in the way my mom wanted. Because I knew she wasn't imagining the Guardians. I knew she wasn't defending mere hallucinations.

_However_, I thought, _I do need to tell her to keep her mouth shut. It isn't worth getting in trouble or being misdiagnosed for. I mean…I believe in them too. But I don't blab to everyone I know about them. _

But what my mom said slowly bore into me. That my sister should be focusing on friends other people can see…

_No…I'm not abandoning my friends for Jack. I've actually made a lot of friends this last semester. It's different…_

Then I started thinking about Jack avoiding me again. I should never have been so bold with him… I just… I just believed so much that he wanted to get closer to me. But…maybe not in the way I wanted.

_Gah, _I groaned while laying an arm over my eyes, _I took what Monty said too quickly and ran with it. I should have just let things stay the way they were… At least then he wouldn't be afraid to come visit me. _

Enough was enough. I quickly stood up and walked over to my dresser to change out of my jeans. _If Jack doesn't want to talk about it, then I won't bring it up. I'll just have to be satisfied with seeing him once in a while like I have been._

Collapsing back into my bed, I slid myself under the covers and pulled them over me. I turned onto my side and grabbed my other pillow to hug it against my chest before closing my eyes to settle into sleep. _I just…have to control my thoughts a little. Stop thinking about him like that. Focus on my own life…_

…

…

"I'm SO glad you convinced us to come here," Monty stated as he collapsed onto the bench next to me breathing a little heavy from exertion. "I forgot we would always spend your birthday outside since you were always lucky to get enough snow on it."

I snorted quietly at his reasoning. It seemed Monty had forgotten all about Jack as well. It never made sense to me that such memories would simply disappear like that. But after learning Pippa could no longer see Jack, I paid attention and asked her questions about him. It seemed like she didn't forget him entirely. More like rationalized him out of her former belief. She still could recall details about his personality that only we could know about, but she always recalled it as if we had just been playing pretend as kids.

It still didn't explain why my mind hadn't done the same thing, though.

I looked up to see Ashley teaching Cupcake how to snowboard. Monty and I had already had our turn and needed a rest. They'd probably have to go home soon and change. Unlike me, they hadn't worn the right clothing to fall down in the snow all afternoon.

"It's really cool that Ash had two snowboards at home," I commented leaning back against the bench.

"Yeah," Monty breathed, a cloud escaping his mouth. "The boots are probably a little big for Cupcake though."

"Mm…" I nodded in agreement.

We sat there in silence and laughed a little at Cupcake's effort. She had never gone skiing or snowboarding before, so it's not like we expected her to do well on the first go. But it was hard to resist the sight of someone tumbling down a hill. However, she caught on surprisingly quickly for someone with so little experience.

"Hey, Monty…" I started to say, but paused after losing the courage to ask what I had been wanting to know for the last month and a half.

"What's up?" he asked while turning his body to more easily look at me.

I stared down at my hands and cracked my thumbs as I fought against the urge to change the subject. But my curiosity got the better of me, "Cupcake said a while ago that you had a bit of a crush on Ash….Does he know?"

Monty smiled and asked, "What? That I'm gay or that I like him?"

"Both, I guess?" I said moving to sit on my hands so I could stop fidgeting and turned my head to look over at him.

"Ah yeah, you kind of disappeared after you left to go to St. Peter's," he said referencing my old school. I bit my lip feeling a little guilty that I had unintentionally lost touch with all of them.

But he continued, "Well…in my freshman year of high school, I came out to most people I knew." He let out a small laugh before adding, "Actually, I kind of went through a phase where I tried to be super obvious about it. Like wearing rainbow clothes and crap. I even died my hair blue."

That mental image made me let out a laugh. "Oh man, you'll have to show me pictures of that," I said.

He chuckled a little and promised, "Yeah, yeah. I will. But yeah," he continued getting back on track, "Ashley knows. He doesn't care. I was afraid of being alienated at first, but he was really supportive. In fact, in our freshman year gym class, I would, like, wear these tiny shorts and a tank-top. Again," he added as subtext after he heard me laugh, "it was my funny little fashion phase. But anyway, Ashley ended up convincing most of our class to dress like that for the last couple weeks of school. Confused the crap out of Mr. Perkins," he said chuckling and referencing the overweight gym teacher.

"Oh my God," I said smiling as I pictured the bewildered expression on Mr. Perkins's face at seeing an entire gym of boys inexplicably dressed like they popped out of the 1960's. "That's really cool of Ashley, though," I added a little impressed at his ability to rally people like that.

"Yeah…he's a really cool guy," Monty added with a halfhearted smile as he looked out at the hill where Ashley was teaching Cupcake.

"So…he knows you like him, then?" I asked hesitantly, unsure if I was prying too much.

"Hm?" Monty said snapping back to the conversation. "Yeah, I mean, I guess. I jokingly flirt with him and stuff, but he's straight. So…it's not like you can force someone to be into you, you know?" he admitted logically.

"Yeah…" I said as I trailed off into my own thoughts.

"Why'd you want to know?" he asked me casually.

"I…guess I was just wondering," I said gazing up into the sky and squinting as the sun had just peeked out behind a cloud.

"Ah…alright," he said slowly before shrugging his shoulders. "But yeah, I guess the best I can do is put myself out there and…if something works out, it works out," he said with a more upbeat attitude. "Hopefully my chances will get better once I get out of this tiny town," he added wryly.

I smiled at his comment. Burgess was pretty small, which was why I had to travel so far to go to the other school.

However, I felt better after talking to Monty. I admired him a lot more for having admitted all that to me. He had grown up to be a lot bolder than I would have thought. And…he put himself out there, and yeah, it didn't work out probably how he wanted. But at least he tried. He actually had a pretty cool perspective about things…

"Come on," Monty said as he stood up, "Let's see if they'll trade us now."

…

…

At first I thought it was just in my dream. I thought there was a bird trapped in my room somewhere. But after I finally opened my eyes and woke up, I realized it was coming from my window.

There was a rapid tapping on the glass and after a moment of disorientation, I saw moonlight shining into my room and Jack hovering just outside the glass.

I shoved the covers off of me and walked barefoot across the cold floor to unlock my window.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked pulling open the panels and moving aside to let him through. He's never shown up at my window in the middle of the night before.

"I…uh…" he said as he swung himself inside. He had his hood up and appeared a little nervous, which was unlike him. "I'm sorry to wake you up," he admitted while leaning on his staff.

"Is something wrong?" I asked growing concerned. He's never woken me up like this and his behavior was unusual.

"Not really, it's just…There's something I've been needing to tell you," he said straightening up to his full height and removing his hood before looking at me with an uncharacteristically serious expression.

_Oh no…_I thought as I felt my whole body stiffen. _It's about what I did...I went too far and it wasn't my place to …_

"I…won't be able to come visit you for a while," he said in a low tone while diverting his gaze to a point on the floor.

_I knew it…I pushed him away… Just when I thought I got what I had wanted… Just when I finally had my Guardian back…_

"J-Just for the summer!" he added after seeing what must have been the most dismal expression on my face.

I quickly looked up at him and asked, "What?"

"I'm sorry…" he said growing serious again. "I should have told you months ago. But I'm not able to come visit you during the summer."

"Why not?" I asked.

He took on that frustrated look he would get whenever I asked him questions about himself that he never had to explain before. "Because…I'm a winter spirit, Jamie. I go wherever winter is," he said making me feel like an idiot.

"Well…I mean…you can't just stop by once in a while?" I asked feeling as though he was just looking for excuses to avoid me.

He sighed and continued exasperated, "No, I…you see…I can only fly on cold currents. When it gets too warm, it's like the air forces me away."

"Oh…" I murmured while mentally kicking myself for assuming something so self-centered. "So…you won't be back until, like, November?"

He pressed his lips together uncertainly as he said, "Mmm…it's hard to say kiddo. I don't control when the seasons shift, I just travel along with them. But here in Burgess…yeah…usually late November or early December."

I nodded my head and avoided his gaze. _He's going to leave for months without even mentioning-_

"Hey," he said kindly as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "I promise I'll come back. I think I'd miss you too much otherwise," he admitted honestly, which, caused my heart to leap.

I looked back into his eyes and felt the corner of my mouth pull up into a half-smile.

"Just one condition," he continued placing his hand on his hip and looking at me with that mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"And what's that?" I asked suspiciously, but even I could still hear the disappointment in my voice.

"Look, Jamie," he said, "I know you're really lame and everything without me around- ow," he laughed after I lightly punched him on the shoulder. "But just…promise me that you'll have fun messing around and doing whatever stupid things kids your age normally do…alright?" he asked looking up at me expectantly.

It took me a moment to answer because I found myself getting lost in his eyes again. In certain kinds light, it almost looked as though I could see his frost patterns embedded among the blue…

"Jamie?" he asked breaking me out of my trance.

"What?" I started as I came back to attention. "Uh...yeah…sure. I promise."

"Good," he said as smiling at me before turning towards the window.

"Jack, wait…" I said reaching out to grab onto his forearm. He turned his body back towards me with the moonlight illuminating his features, which were looking at me a little surprised. "I… …Do you have to leave right now?"

He nodded sullenly, "Yeah…I didn't realize spring was coming so early. It actually took me twice as long as it normally does to get here…"

Suddenly a new worry came to my mind. "Well, what if…What if I forget about you while you're gone?" I asked him.

He smirked at me and replied confidently, "You won't."

My eyebrows came together at his sudden assuredness. Before he always seemed afraid that I would forget about him or get angry at him so much that I would force myself to forget about him.

"What makes you say that?" I asked him skeptically.

He shrugged his shoulders and declared, "Because if you were to forget, you would have forgotten by now. And…you were the last light. My first light." He smiled warmly at me, which only caused me to return the gesture.

Half a minute went by where we didn't say anything to one another, and part of me hoped he had decided to stay longer; however, he broke the silence and stated, "Look…Jamie. I'm your Guardian. I'm here to make you happy and make some of your winter days a little more fun. But in the end...I want you to have a normal life…"

Oh...low blow._ He wants me to be normal..._And at that moment, I felt the most abnormal I had ever felt in my life. _Urggh…I'm such an idiot, _I internally chastised myself. _He's my Guardian. That's all he wants to be._

"Try not to be lame, ok?" he pleaded trying to provoke me into getting annoyed at him again.

I gave him a halfhearted smile and nodded my head in response.

He turned and raised his foot to step onto the windowsill. But before he stood up on it, he quickly changed his mind and wheeled around to face me. Very briskly he leaned in and pressed his lips to the tip my nose.

"ARgh!" I jolted as his lips felt painfully cold against my skin so much it burned.

I raised a hand to rub my skin as he pulled away grinning widely. He winked once at me before briskly hopping onto the sill and blowing away in the wind.

I stood there stunned for a second not sure what just happened. And then I realized…

_The little cretin just nipped my nose!_

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><p><strong>Please review if you're still enjoying it!<strong>

**What will Jamie do over the summer? And why's Jack being so cold? (pun intended)**

**More motivation = promptly posted chapters ;D **


	8. Ch 7: Honesty Came Before Shame

**...**

**Woops! I took an impromptu trip to visit family in the lovely southern state of Florida.**

**And wasn't able to bring my computer *egads!***

**So to make up for everything, here is a longer chapter.**

**Hope you like it!**

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><p><span>Honesty Came Before Shame<span>

The icy wind rushed underneath me as I surfed a large current up in the stratosphere. I loved riding the wind, it was possibly my most favorite thing to do. The moment I had first learned I was able, I couldn't stop.

I leaped up before twisting to dive down two-hundred feet onto a slightly cooler torrent. It traveled a little faster, but I had to concentrate on not being flung in the wrong direction. I held my course and travelled 60 degrees north, before gripping my staff tightly and rolling out of the wave. I fell another hundred feet in order to catch a drift headed southeast across the Pacific. Even though there was nothing remotely interesting for thousands of miles, I preferred going across this ocean. It was faster for me.

I was really glad that winter had moved early this year. But fortunately, it coincided with Easter for once. When Bunny's holiday and my season overlapped, we had the habit of butting heads and usually I would be the only one who would get reprimanded. Bunny would always get so angry with me for not holding back the snow on his day. But, come on. It's not my fault his holiday doesn't land on the same day every year…I'm not psychic.

Unfortunately, though, it was the weekend and I couldn't surprise Jamie with a snow day. I knew it was his last year of school and I had wanted to help the kid out as much as possible.

_No matter, _I thought, _he'll be happy to see I'm back. _

I grinned to myself and jumped fifty feet as I felt new energy surge through me. Allowing myself to submit to gravity, I plummeted hundreds of feet out of the sky letting myself absorb the exuberance of it all.

As I approached the Earth, I twisted my body so I could catch a sideways drift and flew at exuberant speeds over the familiar forest before emerging in the city of Burgess. I quickly reached out to grab a flag pole and swung around it to slow my inertia before tossing myself up so I could balance on the top.

Looking around, I smiled at how peaceful the city appeared. The trees had long lost their leaves and the ground was bare. _Geez, without me everything would look so dismal this time of year..._I thought as I noted the absence of snow.

I decided to hold back the snowfall until Sunday evening and just visit Jamie. Summoning my wind, I allowed myself to be blown off the flag pole so I could guide myself over the neighborhood to his house.

As I approached, I noticed his mom's car wasn't in the driveway and instantly grew disappointed that he wasn't home either. _Eh…If he isn't, I can spare a couple hours to wait for him, _I told myself trying to keep my spirits up. I had worked double time the last week so that I could afford to come visit him without falling behind.

I landed by his house and jumped up to the second story to grab onto the tree branch that extended close to his window. The brightness of the sun outside made it impossible to see in without bringing my face up to the glass. But once I did, I felt my body freeze.

It was him and Pippa…She was pressed up against him holding his face in her hands and kissing him intensely. His eyes were closed and was gently holding her hips as he followed her movements. After a moment, she reached down to grasp the hem of his shirt and pulled it upwards. He raised his arms to let her pull the fabric over his head, but his expression changed to surprise once she shoved him backwards onto his bed. He raised himself up on his forearms and grinned at her as she climbed on top of him and bent down to continue kissing him and-

I pulled myself away from the glass and squeezed my eyes shut remembering why I had decided a long time ago to stay away from windows. _Oh no… _I felt my magic spark and sensed the ice sprouting from my fingertips as I started to lose control over it. Clutching my staff, I tried to stop the cold that was threatening to take over, but it was unavoidable.

I needed to get away…

Quickly summoning my wind, I leaped back into the air and flew away as fast as I could.

…

…

Pippa crushed her lips back into mine as she crawled over me, settling her weight on top of my hips. I could feel the heat warm my cheeks and I couldn't help but flex my hips underneath her. It elicited a soft moan from her and prompted her to push against me in return. Inhaling deeply, I sat up wrapping my arms around her lower back. She bit my lip and turned her head to deepen the kiss, but I was heavily distracted with the feeling of her skin on my fingertips as I slid a hand up the curve of her back.

She pulled back from the kiss, smiling at me, before turning her attention on my ear. Her breath lingered causing shivers to run down my spine as she delicately left a trail of feather-soft kisses before pressing her lips into my neck.

I sighed at her touch and resumed my intention of unhooking her bra. Opening my eyes to refocus, my fingers found the clasp. However, I noticed a peculiar array of light out of the corner of my eye…

"Oh shit…" I breathed after noticing the unnatural frost pattern that covered my bedroom window.

"What?" Pippa asked alarmed as she sat up straight expecting me to have heard my mom or sister come home.

My mind had frozen and left me unable to speak. _He was here… He was just here and…_

"Jamie?" she asked holding the same anxiety in her voice as she pushed herself off my lap. She stood and looked at me with a worried expression, obviously wondering what could have made me stop so abruptly just as we were about to have sex.

I quickly shook my head and snapped back to reality. "I'm…I'm sorry," I finally projected. "I just…forgot…I've gotta do something," I staggered only partially making sense. Suddenly standing up, I grabbed my shirt and coat from the floor and went out my bedroom door.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she followed me down the stairs.

"I'm so sorry…I just forgot I had to pick up something for my mom before five," I smoothly fabricated as I shoved my foot into my boot and haphazardly tied the laces.

"Do you need me to drive you?" she asked, her concern making me feel like the biggest asshole on the planet.

"No! No…it'll be faster if I ride my bike and cut through the woods," I lied again in an attempt at convincing her to go home. "Can I call you when I get back?" I asked finishing the second boot and looking up at her.

"Yeah…sure," she said in confusion as I stood up and opened the front door.

"Alright! I'll talk to you later!" I said walking out with her behind me and jumping down the steps.

It wasn't until I had already grabbed my bike and started to peddle away that I realized I didn't kiss her goodbye like I normally would. _And the guilt just keeps on building…_

I peddled as fast as I could through the neighborhood before reaching the edge of the woods. Luckily it was cold enough that the ground had hardened; however, the dirt and grass were still more difficult to ride over than smooth cement.

My wheels slid to a halt as I reached the clearing with the pond. Instantly, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw he had come here as I hoped he would. And like I had once seen before, he was sitting with his legs folded in the middle of the pond, holding his staff across his lap as if meditating. However, the frost patterns were different. Instead of the ornate lace that grew around him, it appeared as though a lightning bolt had struck where he sat and seared across the pond in all directions.

I dropped my bike and slowly walked toward the pond. "Jack?" I called gently, breaking the silence of the forest.

….

….

I opened my eyes and quickly stood up once I realized he had found me. In the same moment, I felt the temperature drop almost ten degrees.

"You're mad at me," he quietly stated as he stopped at the edge of pond, noticing the drastic change in temperature.

"No…No I'm not mad," I defended myself and clutched my staff as I desperately tried to channel my magic into it, but I felt the temperature lower a few more degrees despite my efforts.

"Jack…you can't lie to me. Your magic is like Pinocchio's nose," he admitted, the concern heavy on his tone as he realized he had upset me. However, he didn't know quite how dangerous the situation was becoming. How close I was to losing control near him…and the fear wasn't helping my resolution any.

"Please, Jamie. Just leave me alone," I said gripping my staff even harder as I took a few steps away from him. _For once, just listen to me…_

He put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground for a second. Then he apologized, "I'm sorry, ok? I didn't know you were coming today and… I didn't know it would upset you…"

"You didn't upset me, kiddo. I promise. But **please**. I need to be by myself right now," I pleaded, the desperation woven into my voice as I glanced up at the sky after feeling the wind pick up around us.

"I was just doing what you asked!" he argued obstinately and at a lower volume added, "You wanted me to do **normal **things, so I did."

"I did!—I do!" I frantically tried explaining intermittently looking up at the darkening sky, "You did nothing wrong**. **I just-"

"Do you care about me or don't you?" he demanded to know at the edge of the pond.

My voice failed as my panic intensified. I didn't have time to talk to him…_This pond isn't enough to calm me down. I have to get far away before…_

"Jack…please," he said gently as he took a step on the frozen surface.

"Jamie! Don't!" I yelled and reached a hand out in front of me to gesture him to stay off my pond.

But instead of just a simple motion, a wave of molten ice exploded from my hand and hit him. I stood rooted to the spot as I watched him fall backwards onto the dirt. He struggled to sit up, the ice having soaked his coat and hair, freezing them through, and leaving thick flakes on his face.

We stared at each other in shock for a moment, neither of us believing what had just happened. Then I squeezed my eyes shut as if trying to forget I had lashed out, but horribly thankful that I didn't hurt him.

"I'm sorry…" I uttered before summoning my wind and having it carry me away.

….

….

In the short time it took me to reach home, the snow had already accumulated three inches. I had to dismount my bike as it wasn't built to ride in snow. But my clothes seriously restricted my movements and walking proved treacherous.

As I stumbled inside, my mom turned around from preparing dinner to greet me. However, her eyes grew several times larger once she saw the state I was in.

"Oh my God, Jamie!" she shrieked, dropping the knife she was using and rushing across the room to help me. "What happened to you?!" she asked completely hysteric.

"W-w-w-w-w-w-water f-f-f-fro-ohz a-a-at," I seriously struggled to speak as I was violently shivering and I couldn't feel the muscles in my face.

Without waiting for me to attempt to finish she ripped off my coat and led me through to the living room, not caring I still had my wet boots on.

"James, you need to take everything off," she ordered as she unzipped my wet hooded sweatshirt and helped peel it off my arms.

I grappled with the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head before I fumbled with the belt of my pants. However, my attempt at maintaining my dignity was lost as I failed at undoing the metal buckle. My hands were totally numb and shaking with such ferocity that I couldn't even locate it.

My mom ended up quickly assisting me with my failure and I pushed my pants down as she threw a thick, woven blanket over me.

I collapsed backwards into the couch and clutched the blanket around me, trying to hold in whatever remaining heat I had left, while my mother freed my feet of my boots, socks, and pants.

"What's going on?" Sophie's worried voice emerged from the staircase.

"Sophie!" my mom called as she sat next to me and vigorously rubbed the blanket over my chest and back. "Would you go turn on the shower for him? Just lukewarm, not hot, alright?"

"What happened?" she asked wanting answers before she took action.

"He got soaked outside and the temperature dropped. He'll be ok though," she reassured as she rubbed the blanket over my torso to create heat friction as my body continued to uncontrollably shake.

"Ok," my sister agreed as she ran back upstairs to follow command.

I folded my feet up underneath me and focused on producing enough heat to settle my tremors. My mom just gently soothed me as she continued to rub my chest, arms, and legs in order to encourage my circulation. I had never been so thankful that she was a nurse.

"So what happened?" she asked after my shivering had calmed down.

"I…uh…A car splashed water on me. And then th-the temperature j-just plummeted," I stuttered and creatively lied again. I hated lying so much, but I had long ago considered the ramifications of telling the truth.

"Well, you'll be alright," she said rubbing my back again. "You scared me for a minute though. I was afraid I would have had to drive you to the hospital in a snowstorm," she confessed.

I turned my head to look out the living room window and saw a torrent of a storm going on outside. I bit my lip realizing that Jack had caused it. That I had inadvertently caused it.

"Alright," my mom said standing up, "Go hop in the shower and just stay there until you warm up. Make sure the water isn't too hot when you first get in, though," she warned.

I stood up, still clutching the blanket around me, and headed upstairs. As I approached the bathroom, my sister emerged from her room looking at me with a concerned expression.

"It was Jack, wasn't it?" she asked in a voice quiet enough so my mother wouldn't hear.

"Yeah…" I said. "But it was just an accident."

She nodded and gave me a half-smile before returning into her bedroom. I turned into the bathroom, shut the door, and dropped the blanket before stepping into the shower.

The warmth of the water made my skin tingle as it hit me. I breathed in the steam and stood there for a long minute, absorbing the comfortable heat. After a moment, I plugged the drain and knelt down in the tub, letting the water to continue running over my back and collect around my legs.

As the physical ailments washed away, my mental anxieties came to the forefront.

_I just don't understand what I did wrong… Even if he was upset with me for…whatever. This storm seems like an overreaction. Not to mention…he shot ice at me. I could have collapsed if I lived any further…_

I sighed in relief of the warm water flowing over me. Reaching behind, I turned up the temperature and tilted my head back to let the hot water run through my hair and down my face.

I couldn't stop thinking about his face when I found him. He looked…terrified. I had thought he was simply mad at me…maybe even jealous. But, I remembered then what he had told me about himself losing control over his magic. He was afraid he was going to hurt me…And he almost did.

_Urghh, _I groaned, _Why do I always have to keep fucking everything up? _

….

A month and a half had passed without me seeing him. It was the beginning of winter break and we hadn't had any snow since that sudden storm last November. And the worst part, was I couldn't stop thinking that I'd never see him again.

I lay on my bed in my darkening room staring at the ceiling as had become my habit. I felt awful, worse than I'd ever felt over such a long period of time. I just wanted to close myself off from everyone…didn't really feel the need to socialize anyway.

It'd be easier if I had forgotten about him…maybe if he never visited me again in the first place. But knowing that he was out there and didn't want to visit me hurt. It hurt worse than thinking I had grown too old to see him.

Sighing, I laid my arm over my eyes to block out the remaining light. What was more, I was afraid to face Pippa. I had been avoiding her the last month as well. It helped that we didn't attend the same school anymore, but she still lived across the street. She tried to contact me for two weeks, but then seemed to have given up.

The problem was that I wasn't brave enough to face her. I cared about her, I knew that. But I didn't have the courage to tell her that I had considered the feelings of a phantom before I did hers. _Maybe I am insane after all…_ I thought to myself.

I hadn't even realized I had fallen asleep. After all, napping also became my habit lately even though I always woke up feeling more tired than before. I felt so messed up.

However, my nap was interrupted when my door opened and Pippa suddenly walked in. She closed the door behind her and crossed her arms, staring at me intensely.

"Pippa!" I exclaimed as I sat up, suddenly fully awake. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. "Hey…" I trailed off awkwardly. What was I supposed to say to her?

Luckily, she spoke first. "Jamie, what the hell is going on with you?" she demanded. Her voice was steady despite the evident anger.

"I…" I faltered, not knowing how to explain. I had been struggling to come up with a viable explanation for my behavior the last month, and failed to produce one. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her…

"Is **this **how you break up with someone?" she accused emphasizing certain words while gesturing with her hand at my gloomy bedroom. "Just **ignore **them until they give up on you?"

"No! No. I'm sorry…I suddenly had a lot on my mind and didn't know how to talk to you about it…" I admitted quietly while looking down at the rug.

"Well. Try." she ordered as she re-crossed her arms in front of her.

I opened my mouth about to say something, but quickly closed it as I failed to find the right words. My heart started to race and I rubbed the back of my neck in the nervous habit of calming myself down.

"You have feelings for someone else…don't you?" she asked in a low voice. I looked over at her once I heard how sad she sounded. She was looking down at the rug as well, grief tainting her features, drawing her lips down and gathering tears in her eyes.

"…You're my best friend, Pipps. You are…And I love you, honest. It's just-"

"It's Alec, isn't it?" she choked out, looking up at me with glassy eyes.

_Ehhh?!_

"What?!" I gasped as I felt my own jaw drop. _How the hell did she come to that conclusion?!_

"Don't toy with me, Jamie! I've seen your sketches of him. There are dozens," she exclaimed, raising an arm in the direction of my desk.

So she snooped through my sketchbooks…But what she didn't realize was that those drawings weren't of Alec, but of Jack. And it was only because I could never take an actual photo of him that I had drawn him.

"No…No Pippa, you're…I'm not gay," I argued taking a step towards her and reaching out to grab her arm.

But she jerked away from me and demanded, "Did you or did you not have feelings for him?"

"I…" my voice faltering again. _I did feel something towards him…and only because he resembled Jack. That doesn't mean I'm any less attracted to you, _I thought; although, the words never left my mind.

However, my hesitation seemed to give her my answer. She sniffed and turned away from me to wipe underneath her eye.

"Pippa, I'm not g-"

"Well, Jamie. If you have feelings for a guy then you're not completely straight either," she interrupted cynically as she wiped her other eye.

I was desperately searching for something to say that would convince her that what we had was genuine. That I wasn't faking the whole time.

"I'm sorry…" my voice broke on the final word. "I've always had feelings for you. There was nothing more I wanted to do than ask you out for **years**…" She looked up at me, but didn't say a word. So I continued, "My junior prom last spring was incredible because of you…and I don't even like dances," I halfheartedly smiled in spite of the situation, but quickly reverted back to seriousness as I admitted, "And I wanted to forget about what happened before... At Saint Peter's. But I couldn't…I couldn't stop thinking about…him. Even though I've never been anything but happy with you."

It was hard for me to get the words out. Hard for me to admit the truth, even though I let her think I was talking about Alec. But it was even harder when she looked in my eyes and I saw a tear slide down her cheek.

My own eyes burned with the guilt and pain of hurting her. She was my best friend…I couldn't bear to lose her.

Feeling the need to comfort her, I attempted to close the distance between us and pull her into a hug. But she pushed me away and took a step back while shaking her head.

"Jamie…I can't. Just…don't touch me. Don't even talk to me," she cried before turning and rushing out of my room.

I stood rooted in place as I heard her go down the stairs and open the front door before it heavily shut behind her.

_What have I done?_

….

….

_I have no idea what I'm doing here…_I thought as I stood awkwardly in front of the first place my subconscious brought me to. But it was already too late…

I had rang the doorbell and shortly after, Monty opened the door, looking understandably surprised to see me. It was late, and he was already wearing pajama pants, and he was probably wondering why I had showed up out of the blue after hardly talking to him for a month and a half.

The reason I ended up there partly had to do with me needing to get out of my house. After hours of drowning myself in guilt and self-pity, I felt anxious and wanted to disappear before my mom and sister came home from the movies. And… he was the only other person I could think of to talk to.

"Jamie?" he asked reflexively, but after seeing the forlorn expression on my face stepped aside and ushered me in.

"Monty?! Who is it?" I heard his mother call from another corner of the house.

I bent over to take off my shoes as he answered, "It's just Jamie, mom!"

I heard her footsteps as she walked toward the entryway. After the cheery, blonde woman rounded the corner and saw me, she smiled and exclaimed with her hand on her hip, "Oh hi Jamie. Haven't seen you around here for a while. Tell your mom that I have that cheesecake recipe she asked for."

"Uh, sure. Will do," I replied monotonously as I removed my coat and followed Monty up the stairs.

"Keep your door open Montell!" she warned humorously as we reached the second floor.

Monty groaned and called down to her, "Mom, seriously! It's just Jamie!"

She laughed and replied, "Ohh, I have to embarrass you any chance I get! And I've known Jamie long enough to know he can take a joke."

Except that I wasn't sure I could take a joke at the moment…

"But keep the volume down!" she continued, "Your dad and I are going to sleep shortly."

"Mhm," Monty grumbled in an affirmative and led me down the hall to his room.

I always thought Monty's room was cool. Perks of being an only child I guess. It was big, first of all. His walls were painted bright green with black accents and his furniture matched the color scheme as well. He had his own television and various game systems in there with approximately four dozen different video games.

I closed the door behind me and leaned against it as he turned and looked at me curiously, studying my expression. I knew that he could tell something was wrong. I wouldn't have shown up at his house at ten o'clock at night without texting him if I just wanted to hang out.

After a long minute of silence, Monty decided to speak up first, "Is everything ok?" he asked crossing his arms and watching me carefully.

I shrugged my shoulders before muttering, "Pippa and I broke up."

His face relaxed as he replied, "Oh…you sure you wouldn't rather be alone right now?"

I shook my head slowly and stared at the floor. "I've been spending a lot of time by myself and I really needed to just get out of my house."

"Ah…I see. Well…wanna just hang out for a while? Play Mario?" he offered.

I nodded my head and collapsed in one of the bean bag chairs he had placed near the television. It was a tradition of ours to play older video games when we both just wanted to zone out. We've both played the game so many times that it was more reflex than strategy. Monty already knew all the secrets and tricks to it anyway.

We managed to make it through almost half the game without uttering a word. Granted, it only took us about thirty minutes. After the tension had relaxed a little, Monty admitted, "I thought you and her were doing really well."

I made Luigi jump, but missed my target and lost a life, giving Monty his go. "We were," I said as he continued playing through the level, "But she could tell that I had feelings for someone else."

"Mm…" he replied trying to gently tread around the subject. "Anyone I know?"

"No, you don't know him."

Monty glanced over at me as he committed character suicide and Mario plummeted to his death on screen.

"Oh…" he said slowly, finally understanding while leaning back in his bean cushion.

Neither of us spoke for a long time. He must have been waiting for me to speak, but I just stared at my folded hands.

"I'm afraid she hates me…" I finally confessed in remembrance of what she said to me as she left.

"She's just upset. Anyone would be," he reassured me. "You didn't cheat on her, did you?" he asked not accusingly, but objectively.

"No!" I exclaimed looking over at him wondering whether he really thought me to be that kind of person.

"Well, then you did nothing wrong, Jamie. You can't help who you fall in love with," he said casually as if explaining basic multiplication to me. But he softened and reached out to hold my shoulder as he added, "Just give her time. She's your best friend. And…once she stops feeling heartbroken, she'll forgive you."

"You think I broke her heart?" I asked turning my attention from my hands onto his face.

He seemed to want to take back his words at first. But then elaborated, "I mean…yeah. She seemed to really be crazy about you."

I groaned and pulled my knees up to my chest as I buried my face in them. I felt like the most miserable human being on the planet. I wasn't even heartbroken over all this! I just felt guilty…so guilty that I had hurt one of the people I care most about on Earth. And it happened all because of my wayward infatuation with a fairytale snow sprite that had the emotional stability of a toddler.

"Just leave her alone for a while, Jamie. I promise she'll forgive you eventually," Monty reassured me again.

"How do you know," I asked, my voice muffled by my legs.

"Because I'm her friend too. And she's that kind of a person," he said causing me to look up at him. He smiled encouragingly at me before biting his cheek and asking hesitantly, "So…how did she find out then?"

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. I decided to go with the abridged story that Pippa had assumed. "At my old school I kissed a guy on the wrestling team. And…we flirted with each other for a while after that, but nothing happened." I avoided his gaze and stretched my legs out in front of me as I continued, "Eventually the school found out what happened and unofficially asked me to withdraw while citing that I was in violation of 'school policy' and was 'disrupting the learning environment'."

"You're kidding…" Monty exclaimed, "What about the other guy?"

"He had already graduated by the time the information had reached administration," I explained remembering how Alec was two years older than me. Knowing what Monty would ask next I went on, "And I was already receiving enough shit from various students that I didn't find it worthwhile to stay there."

"Mm…" Monty murmured before leaning back with his hands behind his head and saying, "Well, I guess that explains a lot then."

"Explains what?!" I asked partially offended at what he was implying.

He snickered at my offense and elaborated, "Just why you were so interested in my love life…Not that I've had much of anything to share," he added sourly. "Everyone's either closeted or straight in this tiny town."

"I wouldn't say I was interested in your love life…" I grumbled trying to defend my intentions.

"Eh…you were more than other people. Even Ashley. And I would consider him one of my best friends. But apparently I have to go to Catholic school to get laid…" he said pensively as if entertaining the idea.

"I told you, nothing happened between me and him," I said trying to expunge the idea from his mind.

"But you're still hung up on this guy after all this time?" he asked curiously as he arched an eyebrow at me.

"I mean…" my mind wasn't picturing Alec at that moment, but Jack. And unlike Alec, Jack did come back into my life more recently. "Yeah, I guess," I admitted. "But I like…I was still attracted to Pippa when I was with her."

"You're probably just into both then," Monty said nonchalantly with a wave of his hand. "It's not that weird."

"Yeah...maybe," I replied pessimistically. I wasn't really sure where I was oriented. I generally found girls attractive. It was only ever Alec and Jack that I felt a strong attraction to, despite them being the same gender. _I mean…I don't know. I've had sex with Pippa and loved it, _I thought as I pushed back the pain of remembering how I had hurt her and continued my thought process, _I mean…maybe if it actually came down to it, I wouldn't even want to do it with a guy. But…I liked kissing him. That's a sign, isn't it? _

Monty jerked me out of my thoughts as he sighed. "Well…feel better now, grasshopper?" he asked adopting the attitude of a mentor.

"Shut the fuck up," I grinned and flung an empty game box at him.

He laughed and put the controllers back before standing up and pulling blankets out of his closet.

"What are you doing?" I asked him curiously as he arranged them on one side of his bed.

"You can have my bed," he said spreading them out on the floor, "I'll take the floor tonight."

"No, no, Monty," I protested not wanting to feel any guiltier than I already was, "I can sleep anywhere. I'll take the floor.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's not a big deal," I insisted.

"Alright," he said as he straightened up. "Or…you know…you can share the bed with me," he said in a faux attempt at being seductive as he made motions as if pretending to strip for me.

"Take your pants off and I will set you on fire," I threatened semi-seriously as I moved next to him and arranged the blankets he brought out.

"Mm…kinky," he said winking at me.

I rolled my eyes and settled myself down on the floor. Pulling the covers over me I turned on my side and closed my eyes. I wasn't even tired, but I didn't feel like talking anymore, even though talking to Monty helped more than anything else had this past month.

I consciously tried to empty my mind of all guilt and grief in an attempt at slowly falling asleep…

….

….

There I was, inconspicuously frosting a meadow to the rhythmic classic of _Habanera _playing in my head completely minding my own business when, lo and behold, the king of kangaroos himself launches out of the earth.

I leaped six feet backwards, naturally afraid of him trying to capture me as he often does like this. Quickly scanning the grey and white rabbit, I searched for weapons or nets, but found none. If he didn't come here to capture me, why did he take the time to pinpoint where I was?

"What do you want, Cottonbutt?" I asked suspiciously. "It's January. What did I possibly do this time?"

"Aye. I'm just tha messenga, mate. Sandy was lookin' for ya," he said shaking the dirt off himself and shooting a glare across the clearing at me.

"Sandy?" I asked confused. As much I liked the eldest Guardian, he rarely needed to talk to me. Let alone ask another Guardian to take the time to find me. Most of my contact was with Sir Hoppsalot here or North, merely because Aster was the spirit of spring and North's holiday occurred primarily in my domain.

"I'd get goin' if I were ya, Snowflake. It seemed important," he said after adopting a wide stance, which I wasn't sure he did to be intimidating or if he was just weird. Then again, he was a deformed creature.

"Where is he?" I asked knowing Sandy moved around a lot.

"Back at his sandcastle. Should still be there if ya take my tunnel," he said nagging me to hurry up and nodding his head toward his gross hole in the ground.

I made a face since I hated travelling through his dirt. But Sandy made his home on a tropical island and, even though I could make it there, I'd be hard-pressed to fly off.

"Alright," I sighed and allowed him to lead me to it. I leaned over the dark abyss and felt anxiety creep up my neck.

"What are ya waitin' for?" he asked and I could just feel the condescension in his voice, which was always infuriating.

Not wanting to seem like a coward, I jumped into the hole and plummeted through the depths of the Earth. I yelled at first, but the sound died down once the panic set it. It's not that I was scared of the dark, more like claustrophobic from being a dozen miles under the Earth's crust.

Through the magic that is Bunny's, I somehow fell upwards until I was spit out of the hole and reoriented myself with gravity as I fell face first into a floor of sand.

The first thing I noticed wasn't the sounds of the ocean or the brightness of the sun. It was how flippin' hot it was.

My whole body felt like it was on fire the minute I touched the sand. The worst part was I had to suffer through it. I couldn't sweat. The most I had to do was sheath my skin in a layer of ice that I had to constantly renew as it melted. But, I hoped his castle was at least comfortable on the inside…

I quickly ran up to Sandy's "house", normal people would call it a mansion or a castle. However, it was not built like normal infrastructures. The walls were constructed from Sandy's dreamsand itself, which had hardened over the millions of years he had resided here, creating a brilliant sandstone that shone brighter than gold, even at night.

"Sandy?" I called timidly as I opened the heavy wooden door and let myself in. A rush of significantly cooler air hit me and I rushed in to close the door. It shut with a loud thud that echoed against the walls of the castle. I walked inside and gazed around. The walls almost seemed…alive.

As I treaded down the corridor, I saw images move across the walls out of the corners of my eyes. But the moment I looked directly at them, they disappeared. This surreality was almost hypnotizing and nearly made me forget the reason I came here.

"Sandy!" I called again, figuring he was asleep. However, after the second call, I heard his trademark dinging before seeing him soar around the corner.

His face lit up when he saw me and he ran forward to shake my hand energetically as his ringing echoed his excitement.

Struggling to hold back a laugh I said, "I'm glad to see you again too, Sandy. But why did you call me here all of a sudden?"

He shook his hands in front of him and images appeared above his head in rapid succession that communicated his apology and then moved on to him showing heavy concern.

"Why? What's going on?" I asked, my eyebrows knitting together. It was unlike Sandy to be worried. He was the most peaceful being I had ever come across.

Beckoning toward me, he gathered a sand cloud and soared off down the passageway. Not knowing any other way to keep up with him, I created an ice wave and surfed through his castle in an attempt at staying on his tail.

He wound me through six corridors and up two staircases before we arrived at his destination. Landing with a soft plop in front of an innately carved sandstone door, he opened it and ushered me inside.

What I found within, I can say I did not expect. Books lined the walls on shelves that were naturally built out of the same sandstone as the rest of the building. The books were peculiar…of all shapes and sizes and many with pages that predominately showed their age and importance. But in the middle of the room stood a twin globe, similar to the one North kept in his atrium. Except the continents glittered completely in Sandy's golden sand.

I looked at him still confused about my purpose and he waved me closer to the massive orb. Pushing its axis, he rotated the sphere until North America was exposed and I instantly knew why he called me there. Thin veins of black sand infiltrated the Midwest that had previously been colored gold.

"Pitch?" I asked concerned as I looked back down at the ancient man.

Sandy frowned and nodded, but then continued to show more images above his head to me in a rapid sequence that made my heart stop.

"Jamie's been having nightmares?"

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><p><strong>:O Double egads! <strong>

**I'm excited to start a new job soon! However, that might make me a pokier poster.**

**But if you all could spare a minute and leave a review, I will appreciate it. :)**

**More reviews leads to promptly posted chapters.**

**And, besides, you might get a hint at what Jamie fears most...**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Special Thanks to: <strong>

**EmilyxJane: **You already know how much I love your reviews! But thank you again! And I hope you enjoy my characterization of Monty in this story.

**JustALittleDisneyPrincess: **Thanks for your help on chapter one. I probably wouldn't have noticed the vagueness of it without you!

**Kigen Dawn: **You make me giggle whenever you leave a review. I love it! I promise things will get cookin' with these two shortly ;D

**Matalic: **Hope I gave you your answer in this chapter! (Even if he only opened up to Monty, it's a start, right?)

**Deltannian: **Thank you! I'll pile on more fluff soon ;D I just wanted to build up something else first...

**kitty: **No worries. I do not plan on spoiling my current streak of finishing stories. I learned I like writing way too much for that. And I plan on making this story about as long as my last one. (~35 chapters)


	9. Ch 8: Shadows in the Dark

**.**

**Just to recap, when the story officially started, Jamie was sixteen and turned seventeen while Jack was there.**

**Now it is February, he is eighteen and Jack missed his birthday :x (woops)**

**I do apologize...changed the timeline partway through and just wanted to make that clear. **

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><p><span>Shadows in the Dark<span>

_Heh…_ I sighed heavily as I lay limply on the tree limb above Jamie's window. Swinging my foot lazily underneath me and gazing through the branches up at the stars, I lay in wait for something to happen. My concern for Jamie having nightmares strongly overcame my apprehension toward windows. Although…I'll admit that I waited long enough to make sure he was actually asleep before checking up on him.

My only companion these last few nights was a chubby little brown squirrel, who would wake up periodically to sniff near where I lay and make laughably threatening chirps at the weird presence it felt on his turf. I never totally understood how something with a brain the size of a peanut could more easily sense my existence than the species from which I extend from.

"You know, Chuckles…" I mused thoughtfully to the little guy as I bounced my foot absentmindedly, "You ever wonder how the people who drive the snowplows get to work in the morning?"

I glanced up at him over my head and his nose twitched anxiously before he retreated back into his nest.

"Yeah…me neither," I said despairingly after losing my only distraction. It was late and the neighborhood streets were empty. I had been watching Jamie's room for several nights to make sure that nothing suspicious was going on. And so far…nada.

He slept.

Like a stone.

Nothing more of interest.

I couldn't even tell what kind of dream he was having, since Sandy didn't visit him anymore. So it made me doubt whether the kid was even on Pitch's radar. Pitch preferred children's dreams, which always seemed extremely perverse to me, but I didn't really have an interest in understanding his motivations.

Well, anyway. If Chuckles was going to give me the cold shoulder, I at least had Manny these last couple nights. Manny was never one for idle chit-chat. In fact, the only time I heard his voice was when I had first awoken in the pond. Since then, he has been a silent observer. I doubted he even paid attention most of the time.

But I appreciated his light. It wasn't as strong as during a full moon, but it still cast a gentle glow on the sleeping streets of Burgess as if protecting its inhabitants while they slept. It shone against the sides of Jamie's house and the windows, illuminating the redness of the brick and the green of the pine bushes lining the sides of the house.

Except…

Like lightening, I sat straight up and narrowed my eyes at Jamie's window. Something was…off. Chuckles rustled in his nest on the branch above me before crawling around the trunk of the tree and chirping defensively.

Following the instincts of the squirrel, I hopped off the branch and clung to the brick by Jamie's window using my fingertips and toes. His room looked…dark. Darker than before.

Squinting, I could just barely make out Jamie's form on his bed. He was lying on his side and sleeping soundly like he had previously been. Blankets covered only half his body as he often kicked them away in his sleep, and his head rested upon one of his arms. Whew…false alarm. My body relaxed and I pushed off the wall in order to lounge upon my designated branch again.

_I'm just getting paranoid, _I chastised myself. I closed my eyes and smiled as I rested my head against the tree trunk. _This is what happens when I'm bored…My imagination takes over. _

But the squirrel's angry chirping brought me back to attention and I opened one eye. "Go back to sleep, Chuckles," I barked, annoyed with his endless chattering.

Except he wasn't chattering at me like he had always been…

I glanced back at the window, that suspicious feeling having returned again. I couldn't place why I felt it…The only oddity was the stupid squirrel. What-

My eyes flickered to the bathroom window and I stood up to better see. From outside, one could only see the opposing wall. But the greenness and small painting that hung there were still visible with the soft moonlight that shone through.

I quickly looked back at Jamie's window and then up at the moon and then back to his window. Moonlight…

**Jamie's room doesn't have any moonlight! It isn't getting in!**

As if confirming my fear, Jamie's muffled yell broke past the window's barrier and pierced my eardrums.

No…

I sprung off the branch and clung to the side of the wall only to see what I had feared would happen. Jamie lay flat and was thrashing against an invisible force that had pinned his wrists and ankles to the mattress. His face was pulled back in a strained grimace and his chest quickly rose and fell as he violently struggled against his nightmare.

"Jamie!" I yelled and grabbed at the window in a frantic attempt at prying it open, but it had been locked. I knocked furiously at the glass, trying to wake him, but he couldn't hear me. A desperate cry broke from him and I realized…I couldn't reach him…

Quickly summoning my wind, I soared over the roof and twisted until I could latch onto the wall on the opposing side of the building. Through the window, I saw Sophie sleeping peacefully and completely oblivious to commotion in the next room.

I rammed my fist against her window and shouted her name as loud as I could. Startled, she lifted her head up and her eyes dazedly focused on me hanging outside her window. Her face brightened and she pushed the covers off herself before trotting over to unlock the window.

As she approached, her smile faded when she realized something was wrong.

"Jack? What's going on-" she asked as she opened the window and I swung inside.

Ignoring her question, I soared across her room and turned down the hall before bursting into her brother's.

Still in the midst of his nightmare, Jamie took no notice of me and continued to fight against his mind's demons. I jumped onto his bed and grabbed his shoulders before trying to shake him out of it.

It only took two seconds before he woke with a start, sitting up like rocket and gasping for air as if he had been drowning. Panting heavily, I noticed sweat had since coated his skin and his complexion had paled considerably.

"Jamie…" I murmured, but the minute I spoke, his eyes darted to me and grew wide as he started to hyperventilate. "Hey, hey. Jamie…it's me," I said calmly as I reached out a hand to gently hold the side of his head, "It's just me…"

Those eyes…the way he was staring at me was as if he didn't know who I was. I felt my chest tighten and the air drastically chill around us. But then…he slowly raised a hand in front of my face and brought it close. I remained frozen, my jaw clenched and afraid to move as I instinctually feared that his hand would pass through me. As he closed the gap between his hand and me, I flinched expectantly, but then felt his fingertips lightly brush against my bangs.

Moving his fingers away, he inhaled deeply before pulling his knees up to his chest and hiding his face in them. I crouched there, unmoving and unable to speak. However, I was relieved to hear his breathing slow as he took steady breaths against his knees.

"Jamie?" a concerned voice asked from alongside the bed. I looked over in surprise to see Sophie standing there. I had been so distracted, I hadn't even heard her come in. "Jamie, did you have a nightmare?" she asked tentatively.

He took another deep breath before raising his head and saying, "No…no. I'm fine." He stood up slowly and put a hand on her shoulder before guiding her out, "Let's get you back to bed, alright?"

"Are you sure?" she asked as they left the room.

I lost track of their conversation as I lost myself in my own thoughts. _Did Jamie…almost forget about me? _

That thought had me paralyzed. I didn't even realize that time had traversed until I heard Jamie close the door to his room.

I looked up at him, still crouched on his bed, as he remained near his door watching me with a blank expression.

"What are you doing here?" he asked finally breaking the silence.

_Good, he knows who I am. But…he sounds mad…_

"Sandy told me you were having nightmares," I answered as I hopped off his bed and stood up.

He crossed his arms in front of him and stared me down for what seemed like the longest 30 seconds of my life. "So…he sent you to watch me?" he asked, the suspicion evident in his voice.

"No! I…wanted to make sure you were safe," I admitted avoiding his glare by looking off to the side. _He is mad…_

"You know, you keep saying stuff like that, Jack. But it's getting harder and harder to believe you," he responded sharply.

"Why?" I asked a little hurt that he would doubt my intentions.

And to make matters worse, his expression changed from staring at me blankly to looking at me as if I were a complete idiot. "What do you mean '**why'**?" he asked dumbfounded. "You…never mind," he grumbled as he walked alongside his bed and pulled back the covers, "I just need to stop pretending I understand you." And with that he yanked the covers over himself and dropped his head haughtily on the pillow and turned sharply so his back was to me.

_He's…oh…_I thought as the memory suddenly came back to me and I remembered what I did to make him mad. The temperature dropped a little in his room as that day fully penetrated my mind. I had locked it safely away so I didn't dwell on it.

"I told you," I said quietly as I gripped both hands around my staff, "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Well then **why **did you pull a disappearing act again these last three months?" he asked angrily while sitting up to glare into me again.

"Because…I hurt you. I lost control in front of you and I couldn't bring myself to face you after that…"

I couldn't even bring myself to look at him for several minutes. He didn't say a word, which…I would understand if he ignored me to get back at me. It was only fair… But then I heard him rustling in his closet and I looked up to see him pulling on a pair of jeans.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Let's go for a walk," he said, his voice much calmer than before. He zipped up a hoodie and grabbed his coat and scarf before adding, "The fresh air will help clear my head and, besides, I know how much you don't like being inside for too long."

_Huh? _

"Jamie…what-?"

But he held up a hand to quiet me before saying, "I'll meet you out front," and then he exited out his bedroom door and I heard him quietly descend the stairs so as to not wake anyone up.

_Ok…_

Quiet as a shadow, I grabbed my staff, unlocked his bedroom window, and hopped out of his room. Then as if to double check, I jumped up to the branch I was lying on and scoped the inside of his room. The moonlight cast a gentle aura of light on the hardwood floor, pushing away the darkness that had previously claimed the boy's room. Everything seemed to be back to normal.

My ears perked up when I heard the front door very quietly open and shut, cuing me to jump down from my height and land lightly behind him. He turned to quietly sneak away from his house, but accidently let out a yelp when he bumped into me.

"Gah! ...Jesus you need to make at least **some **noise," he said wryly as he shoved me lightly aside and made his way down his front walk.

"Sorry…" I said, embarrassed that I had scared him completely unintentionally again.

I followed him down the street…at the painfully slow pace he went. Granted, I was used to zipping around at the speed of wind. Walking was just so BORING.

But at the same time, it felt nice knowing that he wasn't ignoring me anymore.

"So…" he said once we reached the park and were out of earshot of the sleeping neighborhood, "What did I do that made you lose control like that?"

I sighed exasperated as I tried to explain again, "I told you, Jamie. You didn't do anything."

"Hm…" was his only response at first. Then as we traversed the field leading up to the forest, he said, "You know…Every time I think I understand you a little better, you do something that confuses the hell out of me."

My eyebrows cinched together and I looked up at him unsure of what he expected out of me.

"Welcome to the first 200 years of my life," I replied mordantly, spinning my staff in one hand before landing it to rest against my shoulder.

He snorted in humor to what I said, but quickly fell silent again and looked straight ahead at the path. The forest was dark, but the moon still managed to weave its light through the branches to guide us along the way. There wasn't much snow on the ground, which was helpful in staying true to the trail.

After we walked further, I glanced nervously up at him. He looked…calm. Whatever anger he felt toward me had melted away, which in turn made me relieved. I missed being in his company… He beats the pants off Chuckles any day.

Which also made me feel obligated to him. To compensate for the confusion and anger I had left him with.

"You…remember when I said I wasn't always happy?" I asked in a low tone.

He glanced sideways at me as we walked and waited a moment before silently nodding his head.

Picking a point straight in front of us to stare at, I continued explaining, "Well… I didn't really tell you the half of it." I felt my heart start to pound and the magic build up as I brought myself back to those memories, but I gripped my staff tightly and carried on, "When I woke up as Jack Frost…I didn't know anything about myself other than my name. I had no one and no memories to work with… And…after I realized that…I was scared. Really scared."

He didn't say anything, but continued walking with his hands buried in his pockets. Avoiding his eyes, I kept going, "I instinctually traveled to the nearest village, which I didn't know used to be my own, and tried to find people. Ask them questions. Find out where I was. But…they ignored me. Walked through me. Didn't even know I was there and…it hurt."

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself before admitting the next part. I never wanted to tell him about it, but since I had started talking, I found it really difficult to stop.

"Eventually the solitude got to me. I blamed people. I didn't know why they were ignoring me or why they could easily walk through me as if I were merely dust. So…I tried to force them to see me…

It started off as annoying pranks, but it escalated once I realized that had no effect. Although the thing I couldn't stand most of all, the thing that angered me beyond reason, was seeing people in love. I hated it. I hated it so much even though I didn't understand why. And I was so volatile at the time that I unintentionally conjured storms that wreaked devastation for miles. I ruined crops, snowed people into their homes, and…a lot of people starved because of me. A lot of people died because of me…"

That did it. I reached up to press my thumb and fingers against my eyes to stop any tears that threatened to fall. I promised myself a long time ago that I couldn't keep getting upset over it. What's done is done. The most I could do was prevent it from happening again. I took a deep breath in an attempt at calming myself.

Thankfully Jamie distracted me. "I'm sorry…" he apologized even though everything clearly didn't concern him. "Did I…make you mad?" he asked hesitantly.

"No…" I said while shaking my head. "You just caught me off-guard…I wasn't expecting to see you like that. You were just a trigger."

"Trigger?" he asked confused.

"Mhm…I couldn't help what happened three months ago. It's like…when someone is claustrophobic and they're put in a small space, their body reacts uncontrollably. The fear overwhelms them. That's what it's like for me. It triggered my magic and I grew scared. So I ran to try and calm myself down."

It was at that point that we reached the clearing wherein my pond lie. We both stopped at the edge of the woods and something clicked together for Jamie, as he added, "That's why you meditate."

"Yeah."

"And I interrupted it."

"…Yeah," I admitted honestly.

Once again, silence descended upon both of us as neither of us knew what to say. Even though I wasn't afraid of losing control, I still walked over and stepped onto my pond. A sense of calm immediately soaked into me and I exhaled slowly, relishing in the peace it gave me.

"This place calms you down," Jamie remarked and I looked over to see him standing at the edge of it.

I smiled and nodded at him before sliding back over to stand in front of him. It was then that I noticed him watching me with a very calculating look.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

I rolled my eyes and said for the umpteenth time, "I told you Jamie. You didn't do anything wrong.

"But I still hurt you," he said in barely more than a whisper.

I pursed my lips and didn't say anything. Mostly because I knew he was right. It did hurt to see him like that…But before I could think much more about it, he slowly reached up and brushed his fingers against my hair like he had before.

"Your hair wasn't always white, was it?" he asked more as a statement than a question.

A corner of my mouth pulled up in a half-smile as I shook my head, confirming his answer.

He smiled a little and then focused his attention on my eyes. He stared at me so long that I got uncomfortable and broke eye contact with him. Coughing a little, I looked back up at him and saw that his face had grown serious.

"Jack…how old were you when you fell in the pond? ...When you became Jack Frost?" he asked both curiously and sadly.

"Eighteen," I answered while mentally steering myself away from the memory. But his snort broke my concentration. "What?" I asked bringing my eyebrows together.

"Really?" he asked looking at me in disbelief. "You look so much younger-"

"Hey!" I exclaimed growing angry. "I didn't live in the lap of luxury with food on every corner like you do!" I crossed my arms haughtily and looked off to the side. "We went through a couple hard winters…stunted my growth," I grumbled.

His laughter broke the tension and I glanced back to see him holding his stomach while trying to regain composure. "I'm sorry…" he chuckled, "I didn't mean to imply anything. I was just surprised to know you were the same age as I am now."

"I'm still older than you…" I muttered under my breath.

"Well I'm stronger than you," he countered, his smile morphing into a brazen grin.

"Watch it, kid. You haven't even seen half of what I can do," I replied confidently while spinning my staff around. He rolled his eyes at me and put his hands back in his pockets. Resting my staff back on the ground, I asked, "How come you're the one that manages to brighten my mood so easily?"

He shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I don't like to see you sad."

I let out air in a silent laugh at his simple answer before shyly looking off to the side and repeating, "Well, I don't like to see you sad either. And…I was really worried about you tonight," I added honestly.

"You were worried that Pitch was giving me nightmares," he expanded and I nodded my head in response. So he added, "Well, he's not. It was just…me. I've had a lot on my mind since you left and it's been interrupting my sleep."

I stared at him intently as I didn't really believe him. He wasn't having just an ordinary nightmare…

"What were you dreaming about?" I asked him slowly while staring directly into his eyes.

He smiled a little and his eyes softened. "I dreamt that I had lost you," he admitted.

It took me a moment to realize that I was staring at him with possibly the most dumbstruck expression on my face. I was shocked that he cared so much about me…

And before I understood what was happening, I felt him gently place his hands on my face before leaning down to press his lips against mine. I stood frozen as I didn't know what was happening at first.

Then I swung my stick and wacked him upside the head.

"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN KEEP DOING THAT?" I unleashed the minute he pulled away from me. "You have to ASK people before you can-"

I stopped once I discovered he was laughing softly while rubbing the sore spot on his head. "I'm sorry," he apologized, "I couldn't really help myself."

I begrudgingly crossed my arms and felt a vein twitch in my forehead as I glared at him.

After noticing my expression, he continued in a low voice, "It's just…after you left…I figured out that I couldn't keep my promise to you. I didn't want to be normal…I couldn't be normal because I realized I was in love with you.

The face I made then was probably very akin to an anvil dropping on one's foot.

_He just flagrantly admits these things aloud?!_

"And, honestly," he continued either unaware or ignoring my distress, "I'm not asking you for anything…I just don't want to forget about you…It's the thing I fear most."

My body relaxed after hearing that last part and I looked up at him surprised. His eyes were kind and revealed the honesty behind everything he said. _So he's telling the truth after all… _Suddenly I felt my pride start to melt away. _This kid… ... ...is insane, _I concluded to myself. _I just told him the worst possible part of my character and his only concern is my well-being?! Whether he had hurt me and whether he can still see me…_I sighed and reiterated stubbornly, "I only said that you should've asked first."

He grinned at me and I felt an arm wrap around my back as he pulled me against him. My whole body tensed up as I suddenly felt vulnerable from never having been this close to anyone before. But he laid his forehead against mine and I felt his warm breath ghost across my mouth as he asked, "So it's ok then?"

I looked into his eyes and nodded slightly. Then he closed his eyes and I felt him tilt his head before gently enveloping my lips with his. He was…warm. I closed my own eyes and submitted myself to it. Heat had only ever made me uncomfortable, but this was different. It was…pleasant. And I didn't want it to end.

After several moments, he pulled away and I looked up to see him smiling at me.

"What?" I asked suspicious of what I did to make him look at me like that.

He simply shook his head before leaning down to gently kiss my cheek. "Nothing," he said, "you're just…I should probably get home." And he turned to head back down the path.

….

...

"I'm just what?" Jack asked gliding to catch up and landing alongside me. I knew his curiously wouldn't easily secede.

"I dunno," he said dismissively. _I can't tell him without offending him again… _"I guess I'm having trouble finding the right words," I said fairly honestly. I couldn't tell him that after kissing me, his normally pale cheeks had an apparent blush that was visible even in the light of the moon. He was just so cute that was having difficulty holding myself back.

In fact, it was incredibly hard to hold back. But I promised myself not to push it. I sensed how simply being that close to me was uncomfortable for him. Although…he didn't object to me kissing him the second time. He even kissed me back…

I felt like I was on cloud nine. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that to happen. I confessed to him only because he had been so honest with me that I didn't have the heart to hide it anymore. Although…part of me knew he cared about me. Even if he never actually admitted it aloud. He had never reacted to me with disgust, merely surprise. And he had kissed me last year, even if it was only to make me stop ignoring him.

We had been walking in silence for so long that we were almost out of the woods. My eyes were having trouble seeing as the trees were blocking out the moon's light, but I knew these woods practically by heart and I could see the opening up ahead as we neared the field.

Suddenly, Jack shot an arm out in front of me that made me stop in my tracks.

"Jack?" I asked looking over at him confused. Except he didn't seem to hear me. His expression was intense as if listening for something. Seeing his tension, I started to feel adrenaline build up as well.

A twig snapped behind us and we both whirled around to look what was going on. I would think that I was overreacting, but Jack had since gripped his staff and intense cold was emanating from him.

"Run," he whispered so quietly that I could barely hear him.

"What?" I asked completely in the dark to what was happening.

"Nightmares. They're following you," he whispered as he took a careful step backwards.

I slowly followed him trying to keep my steps as light as his, but it was impossible on account of me weighing fifteen times more than him. "What the big deal?" I whispered, "They can't hurt me-"

"Oh, they can hurt you now kiddo," he replied and I felt the cold penetrate right through to my bones as the fear took over. _Why now? _

"Run," he ordered again.

"But-" a stick snapped under my foot and I looked up to see six pairs of ruby eyes shining from the darkness.

"GO!" he yelled pushing against my chest. I heard the unnatural sound of hooves pound through the forest as the black horses cantered toward us.

Turning in fear, I ran up the path as fast as my legs would carry me. _If I could just reach the field…_

Wind poured through the trees and I looked over to see Jack leap into the air before changing course to fly straight toward the eyes.

I skidded to a halt and called out his name. _He can't be thinking to fight all of them? _But I only heard his voice yell back at me from somewhere in the darkness. "JAMIE GO!"

Helplessly following orders I turned and ran up the trail, the faint light growing stronger with every passing second. My breath was running ragged, but the adrenaline kept me going faster than I've ever gone in my life. I could hear them charging behind me and could almost feel their hot breath on my neck.

Finally I burst out of the woods and took off downhill. _Horses can't run as fast downhill right? _

As I neared the bottom of the hill, I turned my head to see four of the massive creatures burst from the trees and charge toward me, not caring about gravity since they weren't real horses. _I'm such an idiot…_

Without paying attention, my foot caught in a hole and I tumbled forward with a yell. I curled my body and crashed into the ground before rolling uncontrollably down the hill. Landing at the bottom, I struggled to stop my velocity and stand up, but the fall made me unbearably dizzy.

Stumbling, I fell to the ground and struggled to crawl away from the monsters as fast as I could in spite of the earth spinning underneath me.

Then, a flash of white appeared and swiftly glided in a wide circle around me and I finally registered that it was Jack. _He's fast!_

"Jamie, get down!" he yelled before landing in front of me, placing himself between me and the colossal Nightmares. He slammed his hands into the ground and, suddenly, the circle he had traced around us grew into a large dome of ice, creating a solid barrier of protection.

I panted exhausted, but my vertigo had finally subsided. Jack remained crouched in front of me, tense and ready.

"Jack, what-"

"Jamie! Don't move from that spot until I tell you. Once I do, run back to your house as fast as you can, alright?" he demanded in the most severe tone I had ever heard him use.

"Okay…" I said afraid of what was going to happen.

A heavy bang crashed into my ears as the horses collided with the dome, causing the ice to shudder. I looked up, afraid the ceiling would cave in, and then I looked back to Jack. His position hadn't changed and he remained still, waiting.

My heart leaped into my throat when the next three horses joined their companion and they all kicked and battered at the barrier.

"Don't touch the ice…" he warned me as I frantically watched the horses start to crack through our shield.

"NOW!" he shouted as a bolt of energy shot out of his staff and flew behind me. An explosion forced me to turn around and I saw a hole break through from where he had aimed. In that same moment I glanced back to see him press his hands against the front wall of the ice and blue-white electricity surge across the dome and into the Nightmares.

_Now is my chance…_

Taking off in a crouched run, I escaped through the hole and sped off across the field, the screams of the Nightmares fading in my wake.

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><p><strong>WILL Jamie make it back home alright?<strong>

**IS Jack going to be okay?  
><strong>

**Tune in next week for another exciting episode of-**

**just kidding. However, I want things to heat up soon...**

**Leave a review if you liked the chapter and give *_cough_* the courage to try *_cough_* with *_hacking cough_* in the next chapter ;D**

**And besides, more reviews leaves motivation for promptly posted chapters.**

**I'm going to need it with this new job...sigh.**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Special thanks to: <strong>

**Matilic, EmilyxJane, **and **Kigen Dawn **for leaving reviews. I appreciate it so much!

P.S. **EmilyxJane: **it is Jamie's fault, but I personally can't be mad at him. He's just a teenager after all xP Hopefully this cleared everything up a little bit.

Addtional thanks to **NekoPantera, raediantvirtue, Hoytii, HuskaAkita, Rachel07**, **SilentRaven1, **and everyone else for following/favoriting. (I only named those who followed the most recently, but all of you have made my day, so thank you so much.)


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